After Being Bound to the Scummy Alpha System, I Became Famous Thanks to My Face Blindness - Chapter 8

The photos had already been taken, but they couldn’t be posted on Weibo until after the broadcast of the first performance episode.

The short break soon ended, followed by even more grueling training sessions—this time, for the second stage performance.

The lineup remained the same as the first round, but the stakes were higher. Each of the five lowest-ranked groups would have to eliminate two members with the least popularity.

Unlike the first performance, this round’s theme wasn’t assigned by the production team. Each group had to choose their own song, choreograph the dance, and even design their own costumes.

The Peach Blossoms Crease team chose a new song called Wildfire—a bold, explosive dance track that was perfect for trainees with a background in street dance. If executed well, it could easily ignite the stage.

But this choice spelled trouble for two of them—Fu Xin and Ying KeNr.

Both were vocal-type trainees who specialized in gentle, elegant styles and had virtually no dance foundation.

In Peach Blossoms Crease, Tan Shiyi and Tang Ling had carried the performance, covering up their teammates’ weaknesses. But this time, there was no hiding.

Still, choosing another soft, emotional song wasn’t realistic. It would lack challenge and risk making the audience aesthetically fatigued, forming a stagnant impression.

Ever since Tang Ling had pointed out her flaws, Ying Kener had become much quieter—she rarely spoke before, and now her presence was almost invisible.

At first, He Junnian tried to cheer her up, but after a while, even she gave up.

Fu Xin, on the other hand, was hardworking to the extreme—she practiced day and night, though her progress remained slow due to a weak foundation.

Finally, the day came for the third episode to air—the edited footage of the first performance.

All the trainees were gathered into a classroom to watch and review it together.

Tang Ling, who had mild facial blindness and seldom watched variety shows, still found herself interested—after all, it was her own show.

Thanks to her memory of their costumes that day, she easily spotted herself and Tan Shiyi.

However, since they hadn’t been in the viewing room earlier in the episode, their screen time was limited, and few audience members noticed them. The barrage of on-screen comments was minimal, until Peach Blossoms Crease began.

Then the comment section exploded.

“Oh my god, is Tan Shiyi an actual fairy?”

“I’m in love—Shiyi is stunning!”

“Wait—this is Tang Ling? Since when is she this A? Gorgeous and cool?”

“Did you all see that look they shared? That’s chemistry—actual chemistry!”

“Tang Shi CP is killing me. I’m shipping it right now!”

“Can Tang Shi just get married already?”

The classroom erupted in teasing laughter.

“Wow, you two already have a CP name—‘Tang Shi.’ That sounds kinda artsy.”

“Ugh, I’m jealous. I want a CP too!”

“But seriously, that fight scene? Absolute perfection. So, iron fists, tender hearts—wait, is that even the right phrase?”

“Iron fists, tender hearts—I’m dying!”

“Stop teasing them, look—Shiyi’s blushing already.”

Tang Ling glanced at Tan Shiyi beside her—her cheeks were faintly red, lips pressed together tightly. Tang Ling quickly stepped in to defuse the teasing.

“Alright, that’s enough. Shiyi’s shy, don’t tease her.”

The girls broke into another round of playful howls.

“Oooh, protecting your wife already?”

“Just wait, your Weibo’s about to blow up.”

Sure enough, when Tang Ling opened her phone, her follower count had skyrocketed to over 100,000. The few haters who used to spam her comments had completely vanished beneath the flood.

Of course, there were still arguments in the comments section—between Xia Yutong’s fans and Tan Shiyi’s fans, who were now fighting over CP pairings.

In the second episode, which showed the mentor assessments and rehearsals, Tang Ling had been noticeably closer to Xia Yutong. Xia Yutong had even shown off a watch that Tang Ling had given her.

But once the third episode aired, Tang Shi fans surged like a tidal wave, sweeping across the fandom.

“Private relationships are what matter! Sure, Tang Shi had great chemistry onstage, but Tang Ling belongs to our Yutong!”

“Nope, I refuse to listen! You can’t fake those eyes—Tang Ling looks at Shiyi like she’s in love!”

Tang Ling blinked in disbelief—she’d somehow become the prize everyone was fighting over.

It wasn’t exactly a scandal, but it did make her want to slap the faces of those Tang–Xia shippers.

Still, before posting anything, she decided to get the other person’s permission. She nudged Tan Shiyi’s shoulder.

“Hey, can I post this photo on Weibo?”

It was their camping photo—the one they’d taken together.

Tan Shiyi lowered her gaze. “It’s your Weibo. Why ask me?”

That didn’t sound like a no. Taking it as consent, Tang Ling posted the picture—just the two of them at the campsite. Being a straightforward, no-nonsense Alpha, she didn’t try to act cute or flirt like other girls. She simply captioned it with one word:

“Camping.”

Within minutes, the post blew up.

“HAHAHAHA—slap in the face much?”

“I don’t care, I don’t care—Tang Shi is the best!”

“How am I supposed to survive this level of beauty and chemistry?”

“Look at Shiyi’s shy smile—so adorable!”

“#TangShiCP everyone tag it—let’s make it trend!”

Before long, #TangShiCP shot up onto the trending list.

Tang Corporation Headquarters

Assistant Xu hurried into the chairman’s office, looking anxious.

“Chairman Tang, we’ve just received word from the Beidou Star Training Program—your daughter’s on the trending page.”

The moment Father Tang heard news involving his daughter, his temples started throbbing. This girl had never done anything “proper” since childhood—always stirring up trouble.

“What did she do this time?”

“No, no, nothing bad! This time it’s good news. Apparently, her performance was outstanding—please, take a look.”

Assistant Xu set a laptop in front of him and hit play.

Onscreen, Tang Ling appeared gracefully, folding fan in hand—completely different from her usual unruly self. For once, she looked every bit the elegant, gallant young gentleman.

Father Tang’s brows finally eased a little.

On-screen, Tang Ling leapt into the air, drawing the sword from her back in one swift motion. The blade flashed as she twirled it, every movement smooth and steady, her footing firm and balanced.

Father Tang’s heart gave a faint tug, his eyes softening with approval.

When Tang Ling landed safely, she unhooked her wire harness and began moving to the rhythm of the upbeat music—strong, composed, and brimming with confidence.

Father Tang nodded. “Not bad this time. Seems sending her to that training camp was the right choice.”

Assistant Xu chuckled. “There’s more.”

He dragged the playback bar back a little, just enough to replay Tang Ling’s interview segment.

“I don’t have the extra energy right now to take on new challenges. I just want to focus on doing my best with the girl group.”

Father Tang nodded repeatedly. “Now that’s the attitude of someone serious about her work. What was she thinking before?”

Assistant Xu smiled, clearly pleased. “The young miss has finally matured. You can worry less now, sir.”

Father Tang nodded again, satisfaction written across his face. “The girl performing with her isn’t bad either—seems to know her place and speaks sensibly.”

Assistant Xu replied, “That girl has a good reputation too. Her name’s Tan Shiyi.”

He hesitated, then added, “There are also rumors online that the young miss might be dating her.”

“What?” Father Tang exclaimed, slamming his cup down. “Something that big and you didn’t tell me sooner? Go look into that girl’s background. The Tang family’s future daughter-in-law needs to have a clean record!”

“Yes, sir.” Assistant Xu accepted the order and was about to leave when Father Tang stopped him.

“Wait. Tell Ah Tong to bring her some snacks. She’s lost a lot of weight these past few weeks. And remind Ah Tong—not a word that it came from me.”

Tang Ling had no idea her performance had already earned her father’s approval. Blissfully unaware, she happily brought the snacks Ah Tong delivered and went to share them in the practice room.

After the voting channel opened, the first-day ranking results came out. Tan Shiyi’s popularity soared—she ranked fourth. Tang Ling wasn’t far behind, sitting comfortably in twelfth place.

He Junnian and Xia Yutong also made it into the top twenty, while the rest of the girls fell a bit lower.

In particular, Gu Ruxuan and Fu Xin weren’t bad performers per se, but in a crowd of dazzling contestants, they didn’t quite stand out. Their votes lagged behind, and if they landed in the bottom five for this stage performance, elimination was almost certain.

Fu Xin was inevitably feeling down—too dispirited to eat even the snacks in front of her, fiddling with her dance moves in front of the camera instead.

He Junnian nudged Tang Ling. “Hey, Miss Heartthrob, aren’t you going to comfort her?”

Tang Ling blinked. “Who’s the heartthrob?”

He Junnian grinned. “You, of course! Don’t you know? The viewers voted you the most A Alpha of the first public performance.”

Tang Ling: “…”

What the hell—does that mean Tan Shiyi got voted the most O Omega?

Truthfully, Tang Ling could barely recognize which one was Fu Xin, the girl brooding in front of the mirror.

In the whole team, she could only reliably recognize two people: He Junnian, the short-haired girl who was almost as tall as she was, and Xia Yutong, who wore that unmistakable Hermès watch.

Still, since He Junnian had mentioned it, it didn’t seem right for the so-called “most A Alpha” to ignore a sad teammate.

So, Tang Ling got up, walked over, and gently asked, “Aren’t you going to take a break?”

Fu Xin startled, lowering her head. “I’ll keep practicing. I still can’t get this wave to look right. I’m too clumsy, my body just doesn’t move the way it should.”

Among the group, only Ying Kener and Fu Xin lacked dance training. Judging by her tone, this definitely wasn’t Ying Kener.

Tang Ling tried to reassure her. “You’re not clumsy at all. You’ve made huge progress in just a few days. Don’t sell yourself short.”

She glanced at the camera monitor and pointed. “This side wave looks simple, but it’s actually hard to make elegant. You need to find the rhythm—the motion goes head, shoulder, chest, hips. Head tilts like this, right shoulder drops.”

“Follow me. Head, shoulder, chest, hips.” She guided Fu Xin through it a few times. “See? Much better already.”

Fu Xin looked at her reflection in disbelief. The movement did look smoother, more natural.

Tang Ling patted her shoulder. “Come on, take a break. My assistant brought a bunch of snacks.”

Fu Xin grabbed her sleeve, face pink. “Tang Ling, I.”

“Hm?”

Fu Xin lowered her gaze shyly. “Could you be my teacher? You explain things really well. I’m slow, so I’d like to learn more from you.”

Tang Ling froze. She hadn’t expected that. “Well, sure, I guess.”

Though, girl, I don’t even recognize who you are without the name tag.

“Here,” Tang Ling rummaged through her bag for a while before pulling out a small pink bottle. “This perfume—Narciso For Her—it really suits your vibe. Trust me, you can be more confident. You deserve it.”

Fu Xin was a simple girl from a small agency—no background, not very talkative. Ever since joining the camp, her evaluations had been poor, and she’d grown quietly defeated. Hearing Tang Ling’s words nearly brought her to tears.

It wasn’t an expensive perfume, but at that moment, it was the most precious gift she’d ever received. “Thank you. I’ll treasure it!”

Tang Ling waved her hands. “No need to treasure it—just wear it every day. If you run out, I’ll buy you another one.”

Fu Xin’s eyes widened. “Tang Ling, you’re so kind. I used to misunderstand you. I thought you were really like how the media described.”

Tang Ling suddenly had a bad feeling. And sure enough, the system chimed in her head:

“Warning! Detected sudden decrease in Host’s Scum-A score by 30 points. Current value: 55. Please exercise caution and maintain proper Alpha conduct!”

Tang Ling’s eyes widened. Oh, so that’s why the system keeps nagging me not to let my Scum-A value drop too fast!

Seriously, though—these girls are way too easy to please!