I Became the Top Competitor in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 59

“Something’s wrong! Really wrong!!”

“Hehe, what are they doing~”

“An eagle-eyed expert went through the video of the flowers being delivered over the railing and said that the flowers Chi Meng took didn’t include the bouquet in the middle, so where did this bouquet come from~”

“What does ‘Jiaqi’s spoils of war’ mean (innocent face)? Why are the spoils of war a picture of Mengmeng~~ I don’t know~ I don’t know anything~! Hehe.”

“Ahhh, this photo print was taken by my friend! I watched her take it with my own eyes! Watched her give it to Sister Meng with my own eyes! How did Jiaqi get it now! What did it go through~~” Lü Shifei’s fingers tapped furiously on the screen, practically floating with giddiness. Her account was mutually followed by An Xue and other friends. An Xue, who also saw Chi Meng and Song Jiaqi’s updates, followed Lü Shifei’s shares, found her comment section, and looked at her and others’ meaningful smiles with a blank expression.

renjiansiyuefangfei jin (Lü Shifei’s username): “K-O-S-L-A K-O-S-L-A!”

snoooooow (An Xue’s username): “?”

snoooooow: “What the h*ll are you even talking about? Feifei, are you exchanging secret codes with someone? What is this Jiaqi Ru Meng (Jiaqi is Like a Dream) thing?”

As a loyal solo fan of Chi Meng whose family was strict, only allowed to follow the variety show online besides studying, and only taken to live events by her mother during holidays, An Xue was utterly confused and sincerely questioned Lü Shifei.

renjiansiyuefangfei jin: “Oh! No—children shouldn’t look!!”

The high school junior, the same age as Lü Shifei, immediately clicked into the Jiaqi Ru Meng hashtag square. The moment she entered, it was like Harry Potter’s first visit to Diagon Alley, and a magical world opened its mysterious door to her.

Lying on the bed, Lü Shifei kicked the duvet off and yelled, “Noo——”

“Lü Shifei, if you don’t go to sleep now, you won’t sleep at all today!” Lü Shifei’s mother roared from outside the door.

Lü Shifei instantly became obedient, dutifully pulled the duvet back, “Okay, Mommy, love you, Mommy.”

After lying down, she covered her face with the quilt, her face twisted, and she continued, “Ooo——”

Meanwhile, An Xue, who had strayed into the “forbidden zone,” frowned and scrolled down the content in the square.

First glance: What is this weird stuff?

Sister Meng and Song Jiaqi… CP? Couple? Uh-huh??

An Xue immediately shook her head, tossed her phone away, lay in bed, and closed her eyes.

One minute later, she opened her eyes and retrieved her phone.

No, it’s so strange, let me just look one more time.

Five minutes later.

One more look.

Ten minutes later.

Huh? This timeline sounds so logical… Let me see again.

Half an hour later.

Ah! The truth is this! Senior Chi Meng is actually together with Song Jiaqi! Otherwise, how can you explain them sticking together since the first day of the show, and Senior Chi Meng constantly bringing up Song Jiaqi!

This is the true depiction of love at first sight, instant infatuation, and unrequited love!

If this isn’t real enough, why does Chi Meng’s update only feature fans and Song Jiaqi’s figures! She even took her to see fireworks! To see fireworks that belonged to her! The two of them have private contact!

An Xue was stunned and became even more convinced because Chi Meng had said when she went to eat at Teacher Li’s house that she was staying at a friend’s house during the break! A good friend she met on the show!

Ahhh, who else could this friend be!

She’s gone mad, gone mad! Even Sister Meng’s preferred person is unique! She’s even the same gender as her! As expected of Sister Meng!

They say a cough and love cannot be hidden. The person who discovered Jiaqi Ru Meng truly has sharp eyes. The friend who created the Jiaqi Ru Meng square and organized the evidence of their sweet moments so logically is incredibly smart. Such an eye-opening discovery is worth a follow!

An Xue immediately followed and rushed to WeChat. She had Chi Meng’s WeChat, and usually felt too shy to bother her, but at this critical moment, she had to show support for her respected Senior Chi Meng!

So she wrote: “Love knows no gender, race, or skin color. Love is just love. Sister Meng, I support you!”

Chi Meng was online.

She sent a question mark.

An Xue gathered her courage: “I support you two! You and Song Jiaqi, go for it!”

Chi Meng sent another question mark, and then asked: “Did you watch a CP video? Did you only see me and Jiaqi?”

An Xue: “Huh?”

Ten minutes later, An Xue arrived back, feeling as dazed and lost as a dog caught in the rain, and slowly said, “…Huh?”

So many mysterious doors have opened up to her; every pair looks so real, so sweet, and so shippable…

Instead, Chi Meng smiled and comforted her: “It’s okay, it’s okay. At least Jiaqi Ru Meng is a very popular CP. You won’t regret shipping it.”

An Xue, for the third time: “Huh??”

She stared at Chi Meng’s profile picture. Chi Meng’s profile picture was a simple photo of a blue sky, which she had used since the day An Xue added her on WeChat. It was her, no mistake.

“In short,” Chi Meng summarized, “Read more books, smile often, play less on your phone, and sleep more. Good luck with your final year of high school.”

An Xue: “Yes! Good night, Senior!”

She immediately put down her phone to rest, as she had extra classes tomorrow.

After finishing her chat with An Xue, Chi Meng reopened her chat window with Song Jiaqi. Song Jiaqi’s profile picture was a cartoon crayon drawing that Chi Meng didn’t recognize, simple and cute. Her WeChat name was her Pinyin name plus numbers, and her nickname was Song Jiaqi.

Chi Meng guessed 0327 was Song Jiaqi’s birthday.

Following Song Jiaqi’s arranged promotion, Song Jiaqi chatted with Chi Meng about the attempts to suppress her.

Song Jiaqi: The ones who are anxious are them. You sleep well.

When talking about Chi Meng with Meng Limin after the performance, her seasoned manager had the same sentiment. The people who wanted to suppress Chi Meng would have to take down Cen Hongjie and make Chi Meng disappear from the show; otherwise, topics about Chi Meng would emerge endlessly.

The show was only halfway through, and the popularity Chi Meng brought was significant. If they couldn’t deliver a fatal blow and only relied on spending heavily outside the show to suppress her popularity, then these companies should just keep spending.

Wads of white money would be wasted.

Tonight’s performance, the crown on Chi Meng’s head, was enough to show Cen Hongjie’s attitude. This person was unyielding, had his own principles, and possessed the ability and reputation to be valued by the television station. It was Chi Meng’s luck to have such a director.

“Tsk, speaking of which, we saved them a lot of money,” Meng Limin scoffed. Renxing promptly announced Su Mengyao’s signing with the company. Among the trainees they were originally trying to suppress, aside from Chi Meng, was Su Mengyao. Only these two high-ranking trainees lacked a company or backing, making them perfect targets.

“It’s just that Chi Meng has no intention of signing, and I have no grounds to step up for her,” Meng Limin said. Moreover, this kind of thing can only be handled through official channels, which means at the company level. Individual power is too weak and insufficient.

“As for Chi Meng not wanting to sign, Meng Limin truly couldn’t understand. It was clearly a win-win situation.”

“Maybe she has other plans?” Song Jiaqi suggested.

In Meng Limin’s eyes, no matter how well Chi Meng studied or sang, she was still a girl under eighteen. Meng Limin racked her brain but couldn’t guess her plans, so she could only look for another opportunity to talk later.

After seeing the news online, Chi Meng also had a new idea.

“The debut girl group from ‘Star Journey’ has a three-year contract period. I’m not sure if I can debut, but even if I do, I only want to sign a three-year contract,” Chi Meng said. “However, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. This kind of contract isn’t ideal for an entertainment company, so they might have to reduce my share of the earnings.”

Chi Meng’s plan was that if she debuted, she would sign with Tokyo TV. All economic activities would follow the group, and she would only need to negotiate her share with the TV station. The amount she received would be more than an artist under a company. However, having a company would help manage various affairs, such like Chi Meng’s current situation.

“But it would put the fans at ease…”

However, these plans were all premised on her being able to debut. If not, Chi Meng had other plans.

Song Jiaqi was a little dizzy from Chi Meng’s layer upon layer of plans. She immediately packaged Chi Meng’s thoughts on signing and sent them to Meng Limin. Since Chi Meng had her own conditions, it was up to Meng Limin and the company to decide. As Chi Meng’s good friend, she knew that in business, she couldn’t interfere too much.

But there was one thing Song Jiaqi was sure of.

“You think you might not debut?” she asked.

Chi Meng answered honestly: “The final result isn’t set, anything is possible.”

Song Jiaqi: “…”

Chi Meng was serious: “Until tomorrow comes, no one knows if it’s the end of the world!”

Song Jiaqi: “…………”

What are you talking about—the end of the world—in the middle of the night!

“Speaking of which, I want to thank Sister Cen for defending me. What do you think is the best way to thank her?” Chi Meng asked Song Jiaqi. In the editing of the show, Chi Meng could feel Cen Hongjie’s appreciation for her, and it was even more evident during the performance tonight.

Mentioning this, in a room on the second floor of the dormitory, Song Jiaqi, nestled in bed, gave a slight twitch of her mouth.

She wasn’t sure if she should tell Chi Meng, but during her chat with her manager, she heard something—from Sister Meng.

Looking at the hesitant blue profile picture in the WeChat chat, Song Jiaqi raised an eyebrow, a hint of mischief in her eyes.

Song Jiaqi: Now is not the right time.

Chi Meng: I thought so too. I’ll give Sister Cen a heart sign tomorrow!

Song Jiaqi: Suit yourself.

Song Jiaqi: Speaking of which, did you know that besides being a variety show director, Sister Cen is also a film director?

Chi Meng: I didn’t know 0,0 She sounds amazing!

Song Jiaqi: Sister Cen’s movies aren’t as famous as her variety shows, and she likes to shoot art-house films, the kind that are critically acclaimed but not box office hits. Whenever she makes a variety show popular, she rewards herself by shooting an art-house film.

Chi Meng: Haha, that sounds interesting. It’s the joy of freedom to do what you want with money.

Song Jiaqi: Yeah, so she met with Sister Meng today and asked if I had any plans to act.

She certainly did, and her manager Meng Limin did even more. Song Jiaqi was originally set on an acting path. Although Cen Hongjie’s films had low box office returns, they could win awards! Meng Limin immediately asked Cen Hongjie if she had a script in hand.

Song Jiaqi: Sister Cen told Sister Meng to take advantage of my youth to shoot something youthful, bittersweet, and tangled; in ten or eight years, I will be mature and won’t have that youthful core.

Chi Meng: Hahaha! Youthful, bittersweet, and tangled!

Song Jiaqi: Those are her exact words, and she recommended another person to shoot with me. It’s a trainee in the camp, guess who?

Chi Meng didn’t even think, asking: “Yaoyao?”

Song Jiaqi: …Heh.

She sent an expression pack of a Shiba Inu side-eyeing, looking very disdainful.

Looks like it’s not her.

Chi Meng pressed for an answer.

The girl on the other side sent several smiling emojis.

Song Jiaqi: It’s you.

Chi Meng: ???

What, acting? Chi Meng was stunned.

Song Jiaqi: Do you know the plot of the youthful, bittersweet film Director Cen wants to shoot? /smile

Song Jiaqi: 《The Green Fruit》: Two young girls are vaguely ambiguous, entangled, and falling into temptation, trying the fruit of love. A niche, youthful, literary, painful romance film.

Song Jiaqi emphasized: Two, girls

Chi Meng: Ah…

Chi Meng: Huh?

Chi Meng, stunned inside and out, widened her eyes, scrolled up, and reread what Song Jiaqi had sent, again and again.

Song Jiaqi was relaxed, speaking with the calm tone of someone who had seen it all, “So practice hard and debut together, otherwise Sister Cen will drag you off to act.”

That night, Chi Meng rarely had a dream.

In the dream, she felt grateful for Sister Cen’s usual help and agreed to shoot a movie with her. She wore a white dress and sat under a lush apple tree reading a book. The clouds were light and the wind was gentle, and the grass swayed. A girl carrying a flower basket walked along the bluestone path.

The blue sky and the distant continuous trees were reflected in her black eyes. Her silky long hair, like underwater seaweed, draped down to her slender waist. The pure white cloth wrapped her soft, boneless body.

The girl’s fragrance came closer. The flower basket filled with pink roses was placed between them. She leaned against the apple tree, rested her hand on her face, and looked over with a gentle smile.

Chi Meng found herself smiling too, seemingly wanting to open her mouth to speak. A plump fruit suddenly fell from the apple tree, dropping onto Chi Meng’s skirt.

A red fruit, oval in shape, with a small, pointed crown-like tip. It was a pomegranate.

Before she could understand why an apple tree bore pomegranates, the beautiful, heart-stirring girl next to her picked up the pomegranate with her fair fingers.

The deep red color stained the white skirt and her long fingers. In the scene, Chi Meng smiled as she watched the woman next to her gently bite into the pomegranate. Her pink lips were instantly stained crimson by the pomegranate juice, becoming the most vibrant color in the picture.

Their eyes met like flowing water, love circulating between them. The girl, with red juice staining her lips, tilted her head closer.

The girl, who had put down her book at some point, turned and slightly parted her lips.

Warm breath was close at hand, their noses almost touching. Chi Meng smelled the sweet fruit aroma and the familiar scent of shampoo. Their lips and teeth drew near. The dew-like red juice was smeared on her lips. Just before that moment was broken, the woman in front of her softly said,

“Chi Meng, I…”

“Ring——”

The piercing alarm instantly yanked her back from the dream. Chi Meng abruptly opened her eyes, staring intently at the ceiling, her breathing uneven. In the dark room, with the light blocked by the curtains, came the mournful sound of the owner of the next bed killing their alarm.

“Sh*t, I forgot, set the alarm out of habit,” Xue Weiran mumbled hoarsely, pressing the pillow over her head and rolling over to continue sleeping.

Chi Meng slowly blinked, her mood confused and complicated, but she didn’t know where this complexity came from. The darkness concealed her emotions. The cool air from the air conditioner lightly brushed her. Chi Meng rested her right arm across her forehead, casually wiping away the sweat, and grabbed the fox doll beside her pillow with the other hand.

The fox’s black-lined eyes looked at her with a smile.

Chi Meng was silent, then slowly spoke.

“Song Jiaqi, you can’t eat pomegranate rind.”

“Remember to change it.”

Serving the dish! Serving the dish!

Support I Became the Top Competitor in a Talent Show Novel