After Being Bound to the Scummy Alpha System, I Became Famous Thanks to My Face Blindness - Chapter 25

The last few days of training passed in a blur, and before anyone knew it, the third performance day had arrived.

All the girls were up bright and early, bustling around as the staff did their makeup and hair.

This time, Tang Ling’s mullet had been dyed back to black. To keep it from looking too plain, a few streaks of blue were added to the wolf-tail ends.

Tang Ling was very pleased with her new look—it was clean, sharp, and perfectly suited for summer. It also matched her stage outfit beautifully.

For this performance, the costumes were all summer-themed, candy-colored beachwear. Tang Ling wore a blue two-piece swimsuit paired with a sheer white cover-up. The cover-up, rippling like waves, framed her chest and waist, subtly revealing the smooth lines of her abs.

The other girls couldn’t help but stare in admiration—especially petite Fang Zhi, whose eyes went wide.

“Tang Ling-jie, your figure is so good! Can I touch your abs?”

Tang Ling quickly pulled on her practice jacket and brushed her off.

“Work out hard, and you can touch your own someday.”

By around seven o’clock, everyone’s makeup and hair were finished, and they boarded the bus to the filming site.

For Tang Ling, however, this was once again a “hard mode” scenario. After all, the girls—freshly made-up, glowing, and fragrant—looked nothing like themselves.

She figured that at this critical stage, Tan Shiyi and Pu Xiaoyu probably wouldn’t have the time or mood to flirt. Still, to be safe, she sat at the very front, planning to intercept Tan Shiyi.

Unexpectedly, the first person to board wasn’t Tan Shiyi—it was Pu Xiaoyu. As a guest performer, she wore a different outfit from the others. With her signature black hair and gold-rimmed glasses, Tang Ling recognized her immediately.

Pu Xiaoyu paused beside Tang Ling, as if considering something, then asked politely,

“May I sit here?”

Tang Ling was about to repeat her usual excuse about Tan Shiyi’s motion sickness—but then thought, as long as she kept the two apart, it didn’t matter who sat next to her.

“Of course. Please.”

Pu Xiaoyu smiled faintly.

“I was worried you were saving the seat for someone.”

Tang Ling smiled back.

“Nope. I just came early.”

Pu Xiaoyu sat gracefully beside her, fastened her seatbelt, and gave Tang Ling a gentle smile.

Tang Ling decided to keep her mouth shut—better to say less than more—and focused on watching cute pet videos on her phone.

Pu Xiaoyu leaned closer.

“You like animals?”

Tang Ling looked at her warily.

“They’re fine. Watching cats and dogs is kind of therapeutic when I’m bored.”

“I like them too,” Pu Xiaoyu replied, retreating to her seat. “I’ve always wanted to get a small dog once work stabilizes. Nothing big—a Maltese would be perfect.”

Tang Ling nearly choked. A Maltese, huh? Of course. You already have one waiting at home.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Tang Ling coughed lightly. “I just didn’t expect you to like small dogs. I thought you’d prefer something majestic—like a husky or shepherd.”

“Small dogs have their advantages,” Pu Xiaoyu said with a composed smile. “Less smell, less shedding, easy to care for. For people like us, always busy and rarely home, they’re ideal, don’t you think?”

“True,” Tang Ling agreed. “But I still think the most important thing about having a pet is being there for it. If you can’t spend time with them, virtual pet videos are good enough.”

Pu Xiaoyu’s smile deepened slightly. Then, out of nowhere, she said,

“You know, your way of talking really reminds me of Shiyi.”

Tang Ling blinked.

“Huh?”

“How so?”

Pu Xiaoyu met her gaze.

“Both of you seem soft-spoken, but your sense of self is very strong underneath.”

Tang Ling thought about it for a moment.

“Maybe a little.”

“You’re both interesting people,” Pu Xiaoyu said lightly. “I hope we can work together again someday.”

No, thank you. Once is more than enough.

Tang Ling smiled politely.

“You flatter me, Teacher Pu. It’s been an honor to work with you.”

Pu Xiaoyu chuckled softly and said no more.

Still, Tang Ling couldn’t shake the feeling that Pu Xiaoyu’s words had hidden meaning—but she couldn’t quite figure out what.

So, she ignored her and went back to watching her videos.

When they finally arrived at the recording site, the third stage performance officially began.

Their song, “Summer Equation,” was the second-to-last act. After a long wait, it was finally their turn.

Backstage, the girls huddled together, cheering each other on.

Tan Shiyi spoke first:

“This is our final performance. Stay focused, don’t get nervous, and remember every lyric and move. Let’s end this with something we can all be proud of.”

Tang Ling then noticed Tan Shiyi’s new look—and nearly forgot how to breathe. Her curls had been dyed a striking golden brown, tied into a small ponytail on one side. The bright yellow floral swimsuit accentuated her slim curves, exuding the bold charm of a summer bad girl.

Tang Ling didn’t dare look too long; her gaze darted away almost immediately.

Tan Shiyi caught it, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

“Come on, let’s go.”

On stage, the audience erupted in cheers and screams.

The sound of bicycle bells rang out.

Fang Zhizi and Xiao Rong rode out on stage, stopping at the side to wipe their sweat.

“It’s so hot! Where should we go today?”

“Hmm, how about the beach?”

“Great! Let’s go to the beach!”

They hopped back on their bikes and rode off toward the opposite side of the stage.

The lights dimmed.

Then came the sound of water being poured, ice cubes clinking, a spoon stirring.

When the lights came back on, there stood Pu Xiaoyu at her ice cream stand in the center of the stage.

The crowd went wild.

“Aaaaah—it’s Pu Xiaoyu!”

“She’s so gorgeous—please let her sell me ice cream and end my life!”

Pu Xiaoyu made a “shh” gesture and snapped her fingers.

The girls shouted in unison,

“Boss, one ice cream please!”

Music burst to life. The girls bounded onto the stage—some lining up for ice cream, some holding seashells to the light, others lounging beneath parasols, perfectly recreating the feel of a sun-soaked seaside.

Tang Ling exchanged a quick glance with Cheng Qingyan, and the two clasped hands as they sang:

“Tiptoeing on your shadow’s edge, I cover your eyes from behind,

Wanting to ask if it was you, who left that strawberry ice cream on my desk last night.”

The audience exploded.

“Oh my god, Tang Ling’s hair is perfect! That color suits her so much—our Beidou Alpha never misses!!”

“Look at her abs! Her legs! She’s gorgeous!”

“Wait—Yanyan is smiling? Like that? I don’t even recognize her anymore!”

“Tang Ling and Yanyan just held hands—they look so good together! I’m sorry, Shishi, forgive me!”

“No! My heart will always belong to Tang Shi!”

By the finale, the girls popped their ice-cream-shaped confetti cannons, sending the atmosphere soaring to its peak.

As the applause thundered on, the girls exhaled and exchanged beaming smiles.

Mentor Pan Qingchen rose to his feet, leading the applause. Pu Xiaoyu bowed to him in acknowledgment.

“That was a wonderful performance,” Pan Qingchen said. “If I recall correctly, Xiaoyu, you’re Xu Xizhao’s junior, aren’t you?”

Xu Xizhao nodded. “That’s right. When I heard Xiaoyu would be performing as a guest mentor for Shiyi’s group, I was really looking forward to it. Both of them are such creative girls, and sure enough, they didn’t disappoint me.”

Meng Bingxia commented, “I think the atmosphere on their stage today was wonderful—it really captured the feeling of summer. The little skit segment was also so natural, everyone played their parts perfectly and really got into character. And that ice cream confetti cannon—was that custom-made? I honestly thought it was a real ice cream cone! When it popped open at the end, it actually startled me a bit, haha.”

The girls bowed together. “Thank you, mentors.”

Xu Xizhao grinned teasingly. “By the way, your group’s pairing this time was quite interesting. How come Tang Shi didn’t take the double center position?”

Tan Shiyi glanced at Tang Ling. “We wanted to break conventions and create more possibilities—to let more people show their unique sides.”

Xu Xizhao smiled. “Well, I’d say you succeeded.”

The girls moved to the spectator seats to rest while waiting for the remaining performances to finish. The overall rankings would be announced afterward.

Sitting beside Tan Shiyi, Tang Ling noticed her hand trembling slightly.

Tang Ling gently pressed her hand down. “It’s okay. Don’t be nervous.”

“I just don’t want anyone from our group to be eliminated,” Tan Shiyi whispered.

Tang Ling replied softly, “We did great. No one’s getting eliminated.”

Finally, the most nerve-wracking moment arrived.

After the ten-second countdown, the large screen flashed the rankings of all seven groups—“Summer Equation” had earned 923 votes, placing third.

Which meant—no one in their group would be leaving.

“Ahhhhhh!”

“‘Summer Equation’ got third place!”

“We did it!!”

The girls leapt up from their seats in excitement, high-fiving and hugging each other.

In the joyful chaos, Tang Ling and Tan Shiyi were accidentally bumped together.

Tang Ling caught her just in time, meeting her clear, bright eyes. “Uh, a hug?”

Tan Shiyi lowered her head and leaned briefly into Tang Ling’s embrace before quickly pulling away. She licked her lips lightly. “We did it.”

Tang Ling nodded. “Yeah. We did.”

Tan Shiyi’s lips parted as if she wanted to say something more, but before she could, Fu Xin came bounding over, grabbing her hand. “Shiyi! This is amazing—we made it through!”

Tan Shiyi glanced back at Tang Ling with a trace of lingering warmth in her eyes before turning to Fu Xin with a bright smile. “We made it through.”

Once the rankings were announced, it was time for regrouping.

There would still be seven teams—three six-member groups and four eight-member groups. The seven trainees with the highest votes from the audience would serve as captains. Tan Shiyi ranked fourth, and Tang Ling was just at seventh.

At Beidou Star, group formation was always determined by the captains choosing their team members, not the other way around.

Host: “Will the seven captains please take their seats on the right side of the stage.”

The seven captains obediently sat down in their designated spots.

Host: “We’ll now begin the selection and counter-selection process. The captain ranked seventh, Tang Ling, will choose first. Tang Ling, who would you like to invite to join your team?”

Tang Ling felt her head ache. With her terrible face blindness, how was she supposed to pick anyone? She couldn’t recognize a single person in the crowd—how was she going to choose?

She awkwardly scanned the audience, utterly lost, when her eyes suddenly landed on a familiar figure—a trainee with bubblegum-pink hair, making exaggerated faces and frantically pointing at herself.

Though her hair color had changed, Tang Ling had a sudden flash of recognition. “Jiang Manli, will you join me?”

The pink-haired “scene kid” instantly shot up, beaming. “I knew you’d pick me first, Ling-jie!”

Tang Ling sighed in relief, silently thanking the heavens that Jiang Manli had managed to survive elimination so far.

To be fair, Jiang Manli was a pretty reliable partner—though the moment she sat down behind Tang Ling, she started chattering nonstop.

“Ling-jie, pick Lu Yao next! I didn’t get to be in the same group with her last time, and I’ve been pining ever since.”

“Ling-jie, that one who sang with you earlier—uh, Cheng Qingyan, right? She kept staring at you the whole time. Want to pick her?”

“Hey, that girl who did the bicycle act is waving like crazy at you. She’s adorable—come on, pick her!”

“Hmm, who else, oh, how about Chi Ningrui? You remember, the one who helped me bash Ying Kener last time.”

Under Jiang Manli’s enthusiastic lobbying, Tang Ling’s team eventually filled up to six members.

Tang Ling immediately raised her hand. “I’d like to close the group.”

Captains could decide whether to form a six- or eight-member team, and once a group hit six, the captain could freely choose to stop.

Host: “Are you sure you want to close your group?”

Tang Ling nodded firmly. “Yes.”

She glanced back at the not-so-reassuring bunch behind her and sighed quietly to herself.

A new journey had begun.