After Dissing The Aloof Omega In A Talent Show - Chapter 15

Being pulled up by the wrist instead, Ming Tang felt a little dazed.

Standing straight, Ming Tang was a forehead taller than Chi Ling. As Chi Ling pulled her outside, she left Ming Tang with only a view of her back, where the swirl of hair at the crown of her head was clearly visible.

“Ah? Where are we going?”

Ming Tang followed behind Chi Ling, led directly out of the practice room where the recording was taking place.

Hearing this, Chi Ling seemed to realize her movements had been too abrupt. Worried that the discomfort which had just startled everyone might flare up again, she slowed her pace.

“To Class A. I have some snacks in my locker.”

“I’m really fine,” Ming Tang repeated, having lost count of how many times she had said it. “I’ve completely recovered now. I could jump through the theme song three times in a row without losing my breath.”

Of course, that was a lie.

With the intensity of that theme song, even if a robot were to dance it three times consecutively, it would probably overheat, overload, and short-circuit with smoke billowing out halfway through.

Hearing this, Chi Ling turned her head, her lips still pursed. She swept her gaze up and down over Ming Tang, her eyes plainly writing the words ‘I don’t believe you.’

Ming Tang was confidently defiant. Leaning on a surge of confidence that came from who knows where, she faced Chi Ling’s skeptical gaze without a shred of fear.

“Even so, you need to eat something. You can’t have an empty stomach.”

Chi Ling’s gaze softened, but Ming Tang couldn’t tell at all whether she actually believed her explanation.

“Okay.” Ming Tang nodded, obediently letting Chi Ling hold her hand as she quickened her steps to walk side by side with her.

It was all the system’s fault, making her make such a fool of herself in front of everyone and the cameras.

The production crew of Moment of Destiny would surely be loath to let go of such a drama filled scene, they would definitely edit it into the main broadcast.

When that happened, her reputation would probably be split fifty-fifty, half the people saying she worked hard, and the other half scolding her for putting on a show.

Crossing the stairs and corridors, Ming Tang finally followed Chi Ling into the Class A practice room, a place she had passed by numerous times but never entered.

This side wasn’t much different from the Class F practice room, but at first glance, it just seemed more spacious and brighter.

“I’ll go get it for you,” Chi Ling said, letting go of Ming Tang’s hand.

“Okay, thanks for the trouble,” Ming Tang replied smoothly.

Chi Ling couldn’t help but smile. “What’s troublesome about this?”

Chi Ling walked over to her locker and crouched down. From her unreserved movements, Ming Tang caught a glimpse of a very familiar white canvas bag, one of the backup items the production crew had prepared for every trainee on the first day they entered Moment of Destiny.

With her hands hanging in front of her, Ming Tang lightly caressed the spot where Chi Ling had tightly held her just now.

Chi Ling’s hand was quite cool.

It seemed that apart from the abnormal, feverish heat during her heat period, Chi Ling’s daily body temperature was always slightly lower than average.

As Chi Ling held her wrist, this patch of skin exchanged warmth with Chi Ling’s body temperature, becoming slightly cooler than the surrounding skin as well.

Chi Ling quickly rose and walked over, holding a handful of small snacks in both hands, the plastic packaging rustling loudly as it rubbed together.

“Here.”

Ming Tang had already cupped both her hands upward, preparing to catch Chi Ling’s offering.

Coin sized biscuits, mixed with candies wrapped in colored cellophane, lay quietly in Ming Tang’s palms.

Ming Tang was surprised for a moment. “So many?”

“They’re just small things.” Chi Ling paused. “You should eat more right now.”

Ming Tang pressed the handful of snacks against her chest and used one hand to rummage through them, picking out a candy with an orange wrapper and shaking it in front of Chi Ling.

“Have one with me?” Ming Tang asked. “I’d feel too embarrassed to eat your food all by myself.”

Chi Ling curved her eyes into a smile and reached out to push it back. “What is there to be embarrassed about?”

Ming Tang took the opportunity to catch Chi Ling’s hand, stuffing the candy directly into her palm.

“Chi Ling Jiejie,” Ming Tang deliberately elongated the end of her sentence, sounding as if she were acting coquettishly with Chi Ling. “We just went through thick together, shouldn’t we share the thin now?”

“What nonsense are you calling me…” Chi Ling’s cheeks suddenly flushed. She quickly pulled her hand back and lowered her head, avoiding Ming Tang’s gaze.

Even when Chi Ling had shed her aloof exterior in private to ask her for pheromones, she had never shown such an expression.

Ming Tang seemed to find some amusement in this. Allowing the corners of her mouth to curl upward, she leaned closer to Chi Ling and continued in the same soft, sweet tone from before, “Please, Jiejie?”

Chi Ling was thoroughly flustered by Ming Tang’s teasing. Having never experienced this kind of onslaught before, she couldn’t withstand such sweet, pleading entreaties. She turned her face toward the window and responded, “I’ll eat it, just stop calling me that.”

Only then did Ming Tang say with a beaming smile, “Mhm, thank you.”

“Why are you being so polite with me…”

Chi Ling’s gaze continued to avoid Ming Tang, staring out the window. The sound of her unwrapping the candy was crisp, and the distant, light chirping of birds outside became sharp and clear due to the quietness inside and out.

The rest of the trainees were still upstairs undergoing evaluation or preparing for it. This entire floor was devoid of sound, making the atmosphere exceptionally cozy and peaceful.

A thought suddenly flashed through Ming Tang’s mind.

Failing the system’s mission didn’t seem that terrifying after all.

[The punishment intensity this time was low only because the corresponding mission evaluation level was low.]

[The host is requested not to harbor any illusions or wishful thinking about failing missions.]

Ming Tang: …

Requesting a tutorial on how to stop the system from peeping on its host.

With one hand cradling the snacks, Ming Tang couldn’t open the packaging single-handedly. She had to use her other hand to lift a small biscuit to her lips, using her teeth to bite down on the jagged edge of the wrapper and tearing it to the side. Tilting her hand, she poured the “lifesaving medicine” Chi Ling had prepared into her mouth.

The small biscuit was sea salt flavored, with only a hint of saltiness; the stronger flavor was actually the rich egg-milk taste.

Chi Ling had the candy in her mouth, and a faint aroma of sweet orange drifted through the air.

It was a purely sweet taste.

“Do you like this flavor?” Ming Tang suddenly asked out of nowhere.

“Huh?”

Chi Ling turned her head, her tongue pushing the small candy to the side of her cheek, causing her cheek to bulge into a tiny, soft curve.

Staring at that soft, rounded curve, Ming Tang spoke against her true feelings, “It just smells quite sweet… Do you like the taste of oranges?”

Hearing this, Chi Ling seemed to savor it carefully for a moment before saying, “I like it.”

Ming Tang didn’t know why she had suddenly asked that, but hearing Chi Ling’s affirmative answer didn’t make her very happy.

What Chi Ling liked was the taste of sweet oranges. Although her own pheromones were also orange scented, they carried a clear, cold, and bitter spiciness.

An inexplicable entanglement and comparison began to sprout in Ming Tang’s heart. Consequently, she merely gave an “mhm” and didn’t know what else to say.

Ming Tang lowered her eyes to look at her palm, turning the snacks over, but she didn’t see another orange wrapper. She could only unwrap one with a bright yellow candy coating.

A sour taste spread across her tongue first, causing Ming Tang to narrow her eyes. Just then, she heard the sound of voices approaching from far down the hallway.

“Are they coming down?”

Imitating Chi Ling’s gesture, Ming Tang also pushed the candy to her cheek to hold it there.

“Mhm, it should be Xu Xu’s group finishing their recording.”

“Then… I’ll head out first?” Ming Tang asked hesitantly. “Since they’re coming back, it might not be good for me to stay here.”

Chi Ling nodded understandingly. “Okay.”

“Thank you.”

“Remember to finish it all.”

Their words collided.

“Don’t get low blood sugar again,” Chi Ling took two steps closer, speaking almost in a whisper. “Otherwise, I’d feel too embarrassed to ask you for…”

Chi Ling didn’t explicitly finish the rest of her sentence, but Ming Tang knew exactly what she meant.

Ming Tang finally smiled from the bottom of her heart and softly replied, “Okay.”

As she walked out the door, she ran straight into Xu Xu, who had a weeping face. Ming Tang didn’t dare say anything, merely stepping aside gently to let her in first.

“Ming Tang!”

Before she could wait long in their own practice room, Qi Deng and Jian Jiahe, who had quickly finished their evaluations, crowded around her.

“It’s so terrifying, so terrifying!” Jian Jiahe rubbed her arms, wailing, “Ming Tang, you left early so you don’t know, the mentors weren’t watching a recording, it was a live broadcast!”

“The re-evaluation grades were given out right on the spot!”