After Being Bound to the Scummy Alpha System, I Became Famous Thanks to My Face Blindness - Chapter 11

The comment section was slowly returning to normal:

“Wait, smoking, drinking, dyeing your hair, tattoos, clubbing—is that some unforgivable crime? Haven’t we all been young?”

“Rigging votes is shameful, but that’s mostly on management. Poor Tang Ling, my heart goes out to her.”

“Hold on, is anyone talking about Ying Kener’s shady moves? She drugged Tan Shiyi! And then blamed it on someone else afterward! Isn’t that illegal?”

“Ying Kener fans seeing this? Your girl played wilder than Tang Ling—don’t double standard this, okay?”

“No, friends, let me bring your attention back to what really matters! This is Ying Kener bullying Tan Shiyi, and Tang Ling stepped up for her! Which means! Tang Shi is real!”

Tan Shiyi also reposted Tang Ling’s personal statement on Weibo:

“Justice lies in the hearts of the people.”

A simple sentence, but immensely persuasive. After all, Tan Shiyi’s public image had always been spotless—no scandals, no controversy.

Soon, Ah Tong received a call from Ying Kener’s agency, groveling for Tang Ling to delete her posts, even preparing a little script to cover up their tracks.

Ah Tong asked, “What are you going to do? Settle it privately?”

Tang Ling replied firmly, “No way. I’m exposing her.”

Choosing to act like this now was clearly an attempt to drag the entire team down with her. Since she was heartless, Tang Ling wasn’t about to play fair.

Of course, the girls didn’t have time to dwell on the aftermath. Training was far more important.

With Ying Kener gone, everyone had to adjust lyrics, positions, and choreography. Time was tight, and Tan Shiyi’s demands became even stricter.

They all understood the stakes. Whatever Tan Shiyi said, they followed—practicing as long as needed, with no complaints.

Three days later, the second performance.

“Wildfire.”

The sound of the second hand ticking: tick, tick, tick.

Tang Ling scoffed lightly: “Wildfire.”

The next second, cold spark fireworks burst on stage. Seven girls strutted confidently, tossing their heads and hips to the rhythm.

First up was He Junnian and Fu Xin. They performed a rap together—a part that wasn’t in the original song but added by Tan Shiyi after the Ying Kener incident. Different from Tan Shiyi’s usual style, it was aggressive and instantly ignited the audience.

Next came Cha Mi and Gu Ruxuan, following a sultry, glamorous path. Their cheeks were decorated with colorful graffiti—bold and fiery.

Then Xia Yutong’s solo. Her mismatched, color-blocked skirt made her seem even more quirky, and her singing was uninhibited and passionate.

Finally, Tang Ling and Tan Shiyi appeared. As soon as they reached the center stage and high-fived, the crowd went wild.

“AHHHH my CP is giving us sugar!”

“Tang Shi’s height difference is killing me.”

“That high-five wasn’t a high-five—it was my heart being smashed!”

When the performance ended, seeing the audience’s hands still waving, the girls finally let out the breath they’d been holding.

They had passed.

Next came the Q&A with the instructors.

Pan Qingchen and Yan Yueshe chatted with the girls warmly: “I heard a lot has happened recently, right?”

The girls exchanged nervous glances, unsure whether to nod.

Tan Shiyi took over: “Yes, quite a lot, but we all got through it.”

Xu Xizhao asked, “You added rap to this song. The lyrics seem related to recent events—did you write it yourselves?”

Tan Shiyi answered, “I wrote it. My first time writing rap, so I’m not very familiar with the rules or techniques—please forgive me if it shows.”

Xu Xizhao said, “I think you did great. Your flow is already beyond many newcomers. In creation, staying real is most important, and I see a new side of you in your work. Fresh, impressive, and honest.”

Tan Shiyi smiled: “Thank you, Teacher Xu.”

In the end, Wildfire scored third overall—meaning no one had to be eliminated.

The girls held hands and took a deep bow toward the audience.

After the stage, Fu Xin couldn’t help hugging Tan Shiyi: “Shiyi! We did it!”

Tan Shiyi nodded with a smile: “We did.”

But this was the last collaboration for these seven girls.

After the second performance, new groups would be formed, and the friends they had just made would go their separate ways.

Tang Ling felt a mix of emotions. She wouldn’t recognize a single girl in a crowd, yet she genuinely felt a twinge of reluctance.

After eliminations, seventy trainees remained, to be divided into seven groups of ten.

This time, the previous dorm arrangements would be scrapped. Each group would move into a separate villa with pre-assigned vocal coaches. They would rehearse in a closed environment, and two weeks later, the third performance would take place.

The third performance would be brutal: the bottom four teams would directly eliminate five low-popularity members each—twenty girls in total.

Group leaders were chosen from the ten most popular trainees via external votes, and Tan Shiyi was among them.

Before officially forming the groups, the girls discussed their plans.

He Junnian and Fu Xin wanted to stay with Tan Shiyi. Gu Ruxuan and Cha Mi wanted to see the details. Xia Yutong preferred a group with more Alphas to better highlight her traits.

Finally, only Tang Ling remained.

Tan Shiyi looked at her with bright eyes: “Tang Ling, do you still want to be in a group with me?”

Of course, Tang Ling didn’t. After spending time together, she admitted Tan Shiyi was charming and bold—but living together would be risky. Tan Shiyi was unpredictable, and her fluctuating “Scum-A” value could drive Tang Ling crazy.

Tang Ling was about to refuse when a scene suddenly flashed in her mind:

[“You’re Tan Shiyi, right?”]

Standing in front of her was a tall, well-built Alpha, dressed in a refined and proper suit. Her short hair was neatly styled, and her sharp, elegant facial features exuded an air of authority. Her peach-blossom eyes were warm and expressive, giving her a charming, charismatic presence.

Tan Shiyi’s cheeks flushed slightly. “Hello, Teacher Pu. It’s so nice to meet you.”

The woman before her was none other than Pu Xiaoyu.

Pu Xiaoyu gave a gentle smile, revealing two endearing dimples on her cheeks. “I’ve heard your name from them for a while now. Come on in.”

Damn! Tan Shiyi almost forgot—her group’s backing vocal instructor was Pu Xiaoyu!

Pu Xiaoyu: the true heiress of the Tang family, Tan Shiyi’s destined Alpha, the very person who had once thrown her out onto the streets to scavenge for trash!

In the original story, Tang Ling would have been completely uninterested in Tan Shiyi at this point, happily spending her days with Xia Yutong and never ending up in the same group as Tan Shiyi.

This, however, gave Tan Shiyi the perfect chance to meet and get close to Pu Xiaoyu.

Tang Ling was sweating bullets. This was bad—really bad. If Tan Shiyi and Pu Xiaoyu met now, they might hit it off, and after that, Tang Ling would have absolutely no control over what could happen!

Even if she did nothing for the next two weeks, she had to find a way to sabotage Tan Shiyi and Pu Xiaoyu’s budding connection.

“Tang Ling, what do you want to do?”

Tang Ling snapped back to reality. “I want to continue being in the same group as you. Is that okay?”

Tan Shiyi’s gaze dipped slightly. “Sure.”

After the recording wrapped up, the girls returned to their dorms to pack, then planned to take a bus to their new dormitory.

Tang Ling didn’t have many personal belongings, so she finished packing quickly.

Jiang Manli couldn’t help but feel reluctant to part with her. Watching Tang Ling leave the room, she said, “Ling-jie, let’s part ways here. Let’s work hard and meet at the top someday!”

Tang Ling thought to herself: meeting at the top? Yeah, right. Just don’t end up homeless together, and that would be enough.

She arrived at the bus early, luggage in tow, intending to intercept Tan Shiyi.

Step one in sabotaging the Tan Shiyi–Pu Xiaoyu connection: prevent them from interacting and sparking any feelings during their first meeting!

Tang Ling sat in the front row of the bus, pulling a baseball cap down over her head to appear nonchalant, all the while keeping a sharp eye on everything happening around her.

Soon, three girls who had come together boarded the bus, giggling as they greeted Tang Ling. She quickly determined none of them were Tan Shiyi—Tan Shiyi wasn’t that bubbly.

A moment later, another girl came on, wearing a world-weary expression. She nodded to everyone and took a seat at the very back. Tang Ling decided this couldn’t be Tan Shiyi either; she wasn’t that gloomy.

Then more girls boarded. Leading them was He Junnian, who greeted Tang Ling warmly. “Tang Ling, you’re here so early?”

She was about to sit next to her when Tang Ling quickly blocked her, fabricating an excuse. “No, this seat is for Shiyi. She gets car sick easily, so she needs to sit up front.”

“Oh, sitting in the front would be more comfortable,” He Junnian said without thinking and turned to the other girls. “Shiyi, you sit here. In the future, you can carry an orange on the bus. Just take a sniff if you feel unwell—it really works.”

Tang Ling: “!”

Who knew Tan Shiyi was right behind them?

“Okay.”

Tan Shiyi gave Tang Ling a long, thoughtful look before taking the seat next to her.

She had just showered, and a pleasant scent of coconut milk lingered around her, faintly reminiscent of the osmanthus-scented lotion from before.

Tang Ling held her breath, telling herself not to overthink it.

The bus started moving, jerking slightly. Around a sharp turn, Tan Shiyi bumped into Tang Ling’s shoulder.

Tang Ling instinctively wrapped her arm around Tan Shiyi’s shoulder.

Tan Shiyi’s shoulder trembled slightly but didn’t resist.

They sat stiffly for a few seconds before Tang Ling moved her hand away.

“Did I bump you just now?”

“No.”

Tan Shiyi’s eyes flickered, finally resting on Tang Ling. “Why did you save me a seat?”

Tang Ling blurted out a lie. “I heard from them that you get car sick easily.”

Tan Shiyi smiled thoughtfully. “I thought you wanted to sit with me.”

Saying that, she leaned naturally against the seat, her shoulder pressed tightly against Tang Ling’s once more.

Tang Ling: “?”

You jerk—why aren’t you moving? What’s that supposed to mean?