I Became the Top Competitor in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 55

At eleven o’clock in the evening, Ning Yuze announced the dismissal, asking everyone to go back and rest early to adjust the sleep schedule impacted by the recording. Everyone responded, and when they saw Chi Meng also packing up her things, they showed expressions of disbelief.

Training assistant 019 asked directly, “Is that all for today?”

“Mhm.” Chi Meng smiled, “I want to go to bed early today.”

The person and the system were talking. After leaving the room, Chi Meng didn’t follow her teammates but walked along the corridor towards another practice room. At this hour, many trainees were finishing their training and walking in the opposite direction from Chi Meng. Many people greeted Chi Meng along the way, and Chi Meng smiled in response.

“Sister Meng?” A tall, thin figure came from the direction of the stairs and greeted Chi Meng without expression.

“Are you looking for the team leader? We finished class early today, and she and the others have already gone back,” Chi Meng said.

Qi Yan nodded, a bit surprised to see Chi Meng with her backpack, and asked directly, “Do you need help?”

Chi Meng’s eyes lit up. She casually put her arm around Qi Yan’s shoulder and said with a smile, “Since you offered, I won’t be polite. I’ve been learning the basics recently. If you’re not in a hurry after class, could you guide me on the movements?”

“I can,” Qi Yan nodded.

The still-online 019 spun around, thinking, This is the host it recognizes!

As the two people stood talking by the classroom window, they suddenly felt an intense gaze. Chi Meng looked down and met a pair of wide-open eyes, staring intently at her—specifically, the hand resting on Qi Yan’s shoulder.

Su Mengyao, clinging to the window with only a head of curly hair and her eyes visible, said, “Hehe!”

Chi Meng put down her hand and pulled the window open. The cold air from the classroom rushed into the corridor, which had been basking in the sun all day. Chi Meng comfortably narrowed her eyes, lowered her head, and poked Su Mengyao’s head, saying with a smile, “Is the problem solved?”

No more sniveling?

Su Mengyao nodded embarrassedly, scratching her head, and whispered, “Sister Mengmeng, save me, please, please!”

Chi Meng raised an eyebrow.

Su Mengyao had disappeared all day and only returned to the training camp at nine in the evening. The other trainees had been training for most of the day, and the parts had been allocated. Su Mengyao had just arrived and hadn’t practiced the song yet; she was supposed to practice the choreography with the others under the teacher, and now that everyone else had left, she had to practice the song, but…

Original singer Su Mengyao drooped her head, hanging on the window like a soft piece of mud, whining to Chi Meng for help. Qi Yan, standing next to Chi Meng, frowned.

“Yan Yan even dislikes me! You know, I was the one who taught you to sing!” Su Mengyao immediately became self-righteous when facing Qi Yan, poking Qi Yan’s hand with the rolled-up lyric sheet. Qi Yan was expressionless, bending her finger to flick the drooping curly hair.

Su Mengyao immediately let out a loud “Aiya,” covered her head, and collapsed, lying on the floor faintly, “I’m injured… cough, cough, I can only get better if you teach me to sing!”

Qi Yan “Tch’d,” rested her arm on Chi Meng’s shoulder, and said coldly, “Die.”

“Woo!” Su Mengyao cried very loudly.

“Waaah!”

Chi Meng watched Su Mengyao’s live performance with a smile. It seemed that Sister Meng had handled Su Mengyao’s family matters very well, and the energetic puppy was lively again. Just as she was about to save the ‘pup’s’ life, a person stopped behind her, reached up, grabbed Chi Meng’s clothes, and pulled her aside. Qi Yan’s arm naturally dropped. She turned to look at Song Jiaqi, who had approached without her noticing, thinking she also wanted to watch the fun, and moved half a step to the side. The window, previously blocked by her and Chi Meng, was now sending cool air out unimpeded.

“Good evening, Qiqi.” Chi Meng didn’t turn her head; the familiar scent wafted to her nose, letting her know Song Jiaqi was near. Song Jiaqi, with downcast eyes, hooked the finger that was holding Chi Meng’s collar along the seam of her T-shirt onto Chi Meng’s shoulder. She was practically hanging on Chi Meng. Her gaze under her long lashes shifted, glancing into the room.

“Is the drama queen’s matter settled?” Her tone didn’t contain much inquiry.

Hearing her voice, Su Mengyao, who was paralyzed on the floor, flipped over, still lying down, and gave a heart sign towards the window, as if the onlookers were viewing a small animal in a zoo.

A heart made with both hands raised above her head.

Hee.

Su Mengyao winked at Song Jiaqi.

“Hiss!” Song Jiaqi suddenly turned her head, rubbing her eyes with a murmur, “I’m going blind!”

Su Mengyao rubbed her eyes in mock injury. Qi Yan, arms crossed, tilted her head in confusion.

Chi Meng laughed and gently rubbed Song Jiaqi’s face, whispering, “Go back to sleep.”

From yesterday morning until now, Song Jiaqi had barely closed her eyes. Song Jiaqi “Mhm’d,” and asked, “What about you?”

Chi Meng planned to stay and practice singing with Su Mengyao. Song Jiaqi fluttered her eyelids, then suddenly turned to ask Qi Yan, who was closing the window, “Do you know how to sing Growing Up?”

Qi Yan paused, then honestly said, “I’ve heard it.”

“Oh, well, this one hasn’t even heard it, so I’m leaving the drama queen inside to you,” Song Jiaqi said lazily, pulling a piece of chocolate from her pocket and handing it to Qi Yan, “Here, payment.”

Qi Yan held up the chocolate: “?”

Her gaze moved away from the exquisite wrapper, brushing past her fingertips and landing on the room separated by the transparent glass. Someone’s eyes were sparkling inside, practically wagging her tail at her.

Qi Yan: “…”

“Let’s go. Don’t miss us,” Song Jiaqi said, pulling Chi Meng away. They both raised their arms and waved.

Qi Yan: “…”

Crash.

The window was pushed open from the inside, leaving a gap about the size of a palm. Su Mengyao’s pretty, smiling face squeezed into the gap, and she happily said to Qi Yan, “Woof!”

“Thud.” Qi Yan’s backpack dropped to the floor. The corridor was empty except for the light cast by the practice room window. She looked up in the darkness, a hint of regret on her cool face.

Today is not a good day to look for the team leader.

(〃＞皿＜)

Chi Meng and Song Jiaqi slowly walked towards the dormitory building. Song Jiaqi’s head was resting on Chi Meng’s shoulder, eyes closed, as if she would fall asleep any second. Chi Meng held her arm and hesitated, “Is it okay to leave those two to tutor each other?”

Although she had made Su Mengyao torment—ahem, motivate Qi Yan during the theme song period, Chi Meng was a bit uneasy about letting Qi Yan now teach Su Mengyao to sing.

Song Jiaqi said calmly, “What is there to worry about? Can’t Qi Yan’s skill teach one Su Mengyao?”

“Besides…” Song Jiaqi’s voice paused, and she scoffed, “Her potential is stronger than you think.”

Chi Meng smiled, “Yao Yao?”

“So you think highly of her! If Yao Yao knew your opinion of her, she would be very happy,” she deliberately emphasized with a strong tone.

The person playing dead on Chi Meng’s shoulder said slowly and calmly, “Feel free to talk more if you want me to throw up on your clothes.”

Chi Meng burst into laughter and pulled Song Jiaqi off her.

The dormitory was right in front of them. Standing at the bottom of the stairs, they could hear the laughter of the trainees upstairs. Many dreams were hidden behind those windows. Chi Meng looked up and waved to Lin Tingxia, who was airing clothes on the balcony.

Song Jiaqi, who was halfway up the stairs, turned back, too lazy to show emotion. Chi Meng smiled and followed her.

After the first round of rankings, Chi Meng moved to the first floor to enjoy a two-person room. She stood at the stairwell, watching Song Jiaqi slowly climb the stairs.

“It’s a shame, we were so close,” Chi Meng suddenly said.

Between 9 and 11, there was only one number: 10.

That one difference was the distance between upstairs and downstairs.

Song Jiaqi stood at the landing on the corner and looked down. Chi Meng, who was leaning against the cool stair railing, looked up and could tell Song Jiaqi had something to say. Song Jiaqi stopped and waited for her.

Chi Meng blinked, curved her lips, and asked with a smile, “Speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve ever heard your opinion of me?”

She hadn’t expected this question. It was probably something she thought of when she mentioned Su Mengyao. Song Jiaqi reached up to play with her hair, but halfway up remembered that she had tied her hair up for training. She awkwardly put her hand down. Her fair fingers rested on the silver railing, a chill briefly passing.

“What’s there to evaluate?” Song Jiaqi withdrew her gaze and sneered, “No one else… no one can compare to you.”

She closed her mouth, dropped the words “I’m going” and with a few long strides, climbed the steps, disappearing up the stairs as the sound of her footsteps faded.

On the first floor, the girl tilting her head couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. She walked back slowly with her hands behind her back, gradually starting to skip happily, like an innocent child.

A New Day of Training

Chi Meng, who had slept soundly and rested, woke up on time the next morning despite saying she’d chosen the vocal group song to take it easy. Full of energy, she quietly slipped out of bed. Just as her feet touched the floor, the alarm clock on the opposite bed suddenly went off, and the girl with the purple hair sat up looking dazed.

Xue Weiran held up the alarm to check the time, sighed softly, hit the snooze button, and tossed the round clock back onto the bed.

Chi Meng, standing below, looked up at her in surprise and said with a smile, “Good morning.”

“Morning.”

Her bass voice, just woken up, was lazy and charming. The slightly hoarse sound was a pleasure to hear. Chi Meng mentally gave her a thumbs-up, judging it: Second only to Song Jiaqi.

“Wait for me, let’s go together.” Xue Weiran was a woman of action. She shook her head to clear it, immediately flipped out of bed, quickly got dressed, and pulled out a bag to pack clothes and toiletries.

Chi Meng instantly understood her purpose, her eyes widening. She reached out and enthusiastically declared, “Welcome to the Try-Hards Squad!”

The two sleepy-headed girls, with messy hair, shook hands in the dorm, reaching a consensus on their goal: To be the most dedicated trainees in the camp!

And Xue Weiran even had extra equipment: an MP3! Along the way, she wore headphones, listening to the stage song and humming along. Chi Meng, walking quickly beside her, subtly clenched her fist.

She had originally planned to upload the songs to an MP3 so she could learn them, but the training camp’s stage assignments had taken up all her time. That plan was now deleted. She didn’t even know the tune for the lyrics she’d memorized earlier.

There are still loopholes in the daily plan! Chi Meng thought while stretching in the practice room.

“A momentary lapse; the penalty is one extra hour of practice today,” Chi Meng whispered.

The staff member, whose routine matched the trainees’, twitched her mouth upon entering the room and hearing Chi Meng’s words. She slowly walked to the corner and pressed the ‘on’ button for the camera.

Child, you’re already working so hard, be kinder to yourself!

“Forget it, the choreography for this song is relatively simple, and the staging isn’t complicated. No need to push myself too hard,” Chi Meng muttered to herself. The staff member checking the camera nodded.

Yes, yes, no need~

“Then I’ll reserve one hour today to teach Mengyao how to sing,” Chi Meng said with a bright smile. “It’s settled!”

She finished her stretching, turned around happily, and greeted the staff member as usual: “Good morning, Sister Lu!”

Her tone was lively and full of enthusiasm.

Sister Lu’s expression was complicated. So, teaching Su Mengyao to sing is on the same level as punishing yourself with an extra hour of practice?

She managed a strained, polite smile: “Good morning. It’s a wonderful day today, ha, ha, haha.”

Chi Meng’s smile deepened, and she gave a salute to Sister Lu.

On the way back to the control room after finishing her work, Sister Lu suddenly paused in realization.

“Meng-Zai never talks to herself. So… was she just messing with me?”

“…Well, fine!” Sister Lu shook her head with a chuckle. “Is getting third place making her this happy?”

She pulled out her phone, opened the video app, and cast the vote she’d just refreshed and received to Chi Meng.

As the sun rose, countless people were doing the same thing. A new week had arrived, voting for the second round of Star’s Journey had begun, and a new ranking was about to be revealed.

In office buildings everywhere, in the conference halls of various agencies and entertainment companies, figures in sharp suits were seated, looking at the ranking list in their hands.

Everything was a new beginning…

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