After Being Bound to the Scummy Alpha System, I Became Famous Thanks to My Face Blindness - Chapter 50

Of course she couldn’t go.

Leaving the training camp was already complicated enough for a trainee with no background or connections like her. But even without those restrictions, she still wouldn’t go.

If it was anything else, she could at least inform a trusted friend in advance to ensure her safety.

But this—this was about Tang Ling’s parentage. She couldn’t tell anyone. She would have to face it alone. And if she went, it would be like a lamb walking straight into a tiger’s den—there was almost no chance of coming out unscathed.

The meeting place was a hotel. One didn’t need to think hard to imagine what might happen there.

Should she tell Tang Ling?

Tan Shiyi decided not to.

Before she had investigated the matter thoroughly, she didn’t want to alarm Tang Ling unnecessarily and cause her panic.

Besides, nothing had been confirmed yet. Even if the worst turned out to be true—if the paternity test was genuine, if Tang Ling really wasn’t the Tang family’s biological daughter—there was still room to maneuver.

Judging from Pu Xiaoyu’s attitude, she clearly hadn’t just obtained the test results recently. If she had managed to hold back for so long without confronting Tang Ling, it meant she had other plans in mind.

The more ulterior her motives were, the safer Tang Ling’s position became.

Tan Shiyi fully understood the gravity of the situation. This wasn’t about the petty entanglements between her and Tang Ling—it was something that could ruin Tang Ling’s entire life. If the truth ever came out, the media and public opinion would devour her first. Even if Mr. and Mrs. Tang didn’t cast her out, their affection for her would never be the same.

As someone who had once been abandoned by her own parents, Tan Shiyi knew better than anyone that losing one’s family was a wound that never healed.

No matter what, she wanted to minimize the damage Tang Ling would suffer.

The next day, in the practice room.

One by one, the girls found out about the cards the other teams had drawn.

Just as Tan Shiyi had expected, the rewards from other teams were no less impressive—some even more so. There were immunity cards, “choose your own performance order” cards, and other absurdly powerful bonuses.

Even the punishment cards had flair. Some teams got bungee jumping, others had to pose for photos with crocodiles—terrifying, yes, but sure to make for viral content.

Soon, everyone began complaining.

“Are these really punishment cards? They look better than our reward card! We worked so hard writing and composing our song—for what? Just sixty seconds of audience voting?”

“I mean, I wouldn’t want to bungee jump or hug a crocodile, but honestly, they came out on top.”

“That’s it, the reward cards don’t feel rewarding anymore. My motivation’s gone. I quit.”

Seeing morale collapse, Tan Shiyi tried to comfort them. “Don’t lose heart. The final competition will still come down to stage performance. As long as we focus on doing our best, we’ll be fine.”

Tang Ling nodded in agreement. “It’s not as bad as it looks. Their punishment segments will air after the final performance, so it won’t affect the results much.”

Su Mengzhi, however, frowned as she scrolled through Weibo. “But they can still post online! Look, Lu Yao’s team is live-streaming their bungee jump right now!”

The others crowded around her.

“Wait, they’re streaming it? Isn’t that basically cheating?”

“Not really. The host did say we could use our phones freely.”

“Yeah, but we have nothing fun to stream! All we do is practice all day.”

“Ugh, should’ve gone live when we were at the beach.”

“Or when Mengzhi went to the hospital!”

Su Mengzhi groaned. “Oh, come on, don’t make fun of me. But seriously—shouldn’t we start a livestream too? Otherwise, we’ll definitely fall behind. Everyone’s going all out.”

He Junnian hesitated. “I’d love to, but I don’t really have any special skills. Should I just do a mukbang or something?”

Tang Ling was scrolling through her phone, glancing at other trainees’ posts. Her tone turned thoughtful. “A lot of them are already doing eating streams and casual chats. If we join now, we won’t stand out. If we’re going to stream, it should be something fresh. Any ideas?”

Fu Xin raised her hand eagerly. “I’ve had one for a while! I think you and Shiyi should host a mini songwriting class together. You two have amazing chemistry when it comes to music—and the audience loves your interactions. Write a little sweet song or something—it’ll blow up for sure.”

Xiao Rong’s eyes lit up. “That’s a great idea! I totally support it!”

Tang Ling and Tan Shiyi exchanged a glance.

Since last night, they hadn’t spoken to each other.

Tang Ling wasn’t sure if Tan Shiyi was still angry. Tentatively, she asked, “Shiyi, what do you think?”

Tan Shiyi was exhausted. Pu Xiaoyu’s sudden appearance had ruined her sleep—dark circles faintly shadowed her eyes.

Still, everyone else was hustling. She couldn’t afford to fall behind. After a pause, she said, “But, we’re not exactly professionals.”

He Junnian waved it off. “So what? You might not be world-class composers, but among trainees, you’re top-tier! Am I right or am I right?”

Tan Shiyi looked at Tang Ling. “Do you want to?”

Tang Ling smiled faintly. “If you don’t mind, we can do it tonight. In my dorm.”

Tan Shiyi lowered her gaze. “All right.”

They posted the livestream announcement on Weibo. Within minutes, it went viral.

“OMG my grandma’s ship is finally setting sail!”

“Who said the Tang Shi CP was over? Sisters, rise up!”

“7PM tonight—don’t you dare miss this stream!”

Of course, Pu Xiaoyu hadn’t missed that Weibo post either.

She’d still been clinging to a sliver of hope—hoping Tan Shiyi might go to the hotel alone.

But now, it was clear: Tan Shiyi had chosen Tang Ling.

Then she had no one to blame but herself for losing her last chance.

Pu Xiaoyu’s lips curved into a cold, detached smile as she quietly closed the laptop in front of her.

After the afternoon’s training, Tang Ling returned to the dormitory early.

Her room wasn’t particularly messy, so there was no need for any special cleaning. She only needed to adjust her setup in advance to make sure the livestream would go smoothly.

She opened Weibo’s streaming plug-in and greeted the viewers:

“Good evening, everyone. Can you see me?”

The viewer count began to skyrocket.

“We can see you! You’re so handsome, hubby! Mwah mwah!!”

“A’ling, how’s your injury? Are you really okay to stream?”

“Where’s Shishi? Isn’t this supposed to be a Tang Shi stream?”

“Shi, Shiyi.” Tang Ling accidentally followed their lead before quickly correcting herself, “Shishi isn’t here yet, I’m just testing the setup early.”

“Aaaah did you all hear that? A’ling called her Shishi! Shishi!!”

“See! I told you Tang Shi is real!”

Tang Ling wasn’t sure how Tan Shiyi would feel if she saw all these CP-related comments flooding the screen, so she gently reminded them, “You’re getting carried away again. When Shiyi comes, don’t go overboard or you’ll scare her off.”

The fans immediately started teasing her:

“Protecting her already, huh?”

“Got it, got it—we won’t scare your wife.”

“Hehehe, Shishi’s going to A’ling’s dorm, hehehehe.”

Tang Ling felt the chat was heading in the wrong direction and quickly steered the topic elsewhere. “Today’s theme is a mini composition class. What kind of songs would you like to hear? How about we pick a theme?”

The barrage of comments came instantly:

“Love songs, of course!”

“Wedding march!”

“What about The Morning After?”

Tang Ling almost choked—The Morning After, seriously? Every “morning after” was never a good thing!

Just as she was about to scold them for their nonsense, someone knocked on the door—Tan Shiyi had arrived.

Tang Ling hurriedly said, “Shiyi’s here! See you in a bit, everyone—behave yourselves.”

Worried that something inappropriate might accidentally get caught on stream, she triple-checked that the broadcast had ended before opening the door.

And the moment she did, she couldn’t help being stunned.

Unlike her usual calm and elegant style, Tan Shiyi had tied her hair into a side bun with colorful mini clips scattered through the strands. She wore a puff-sleeved dress in a romantic oil-painting style that made her look bright, lively, and irresistibly cute.

She lowered her head slightly, her voice husky. “Xiao Rong and the others insisted I dress like this. Do you think it’s inappropriate?”

Tang Ling’s heartbeat picked up, but she managed to stay composed. “No. You look good in anything—it really suits you.”

Tan Shiyi didn’t dwell on the compliment. “You’ve already tested the stream?”

“Mm-hmm. Everything’s ready.” Tang Ling placed two chairs side by side in front of the laptop. “Sit here.”

She grabbed her guitar and strummed a few chords to ease her nerves. “Shall we start?”

Tan Shiyi nodded.

Tang Ling restarted the livestream plug-in.

This time, the comments flew by even faster than before—an absolute flood of CP chatter that Tang Ling could hardly bear to look at.

Honestly, these netizens were hopeless. None of them were listening to what the actual performers were saying.

But Tan Shiyi didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she was responding thoughtfully:

“How many times have I been to Tang Ling’s dorm? About three or four times, I think.”

“Tang Ling’s been to mine too, but only once.”

“We’re always just talking about work—what else did you think we were doing?”

“Love? Well, it is somewhat related to love. Our new song ‘Heart of the Sea Breeze’ is a bittersweet little love tune. Please look forward to it.”

At the mention of love, the chat completely exploded. No one even noticed the rest of her sentence—tips and gifts began pouring in.

Knowing that many of her fans were young and didn’t have much spare money, Tan Shiyi smiled and said gently, “As long as you’re enjoying yourselves, that’s enough. Don’t send gifts—treat yourselves instead, really.”

Just then, a striking red notification appeared at the bottom of the screen:

Pu Xiaoyu [Lv26] has entered the livestream.

Tan Shiyi’s heart sank. She didn’t know what Pu Xiaoyu intended—but she steadied her tone and said slowly,

“Welcome, Miss Pu, to the stream.”