I Became the Top Competitor in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 60.1

It wasn’t even eight in the morning when Sister Lu sat behind the classroom desk in the foyer, collecting cell phones.

On the desk sat a plastic basket and a dust bag with name stickers. When Chi Meng came to hand in her phone, the basket was empty; she was the first.

Sister Lu asked Chi Meng with great concern, “Are you not feeling well?”

Why is she up so late!

Chi Meng laughed, her hands tucked into her sleeves, swaying back and forth. “No, I just slept in a bit. Actually, I’m pretty lazy!”

She paused, then propped her chin on her hand and said earnestly, “Sleeping is a comfortable thing, and having another wonderful dream makes it even better.”

Oh.

Sister Lu’s expression turned indifferent as she placed Chi Meng’s phone in the basket. Chi Meng stretched, put her head close to the camera, and waved hello. The photographer smiled and filmed her.

Chi Meng, with her hair down, deliberately tilted her head back and forth, playing a game of chase with the camera.

“Are we still filming even on our day off?” she asked curiously.

The photographer whispered, “Just getting some footage.”

Sister Lu immediately interjected, “Gather tonight at seven fifty to watch the show! Don’t be late!”

She was blocking the only exit, determined to tell the other trainees this news.

Chi Meng gave a thumbs-up “okay.” After speaking, she stood there, not leaving. Sister Lu looked at her, surprised. “Aren’t you going to eat? Waiting for someone?”

“I ate a small cake that Ranran’s mom baked,” Chi Meng said happily. Xue Weirán’s mom was beautiful and skillful, having baked low-calorie, filling biscuits and small cakes. Aside from the Xinghuo (Spark) trainees, Chi Meng also received a share.

Sister Lu nodded, glanced at the time, narrowed her eyes, and huffed coldly, displaying the same teacher expression as Chi Meng’s high school homeroom teacher. She reached down and pulled out a megaphone bigger than Chi Meng’s head.

Chi Meng inhaled sharply and immediately stepped back, covering her ears in respect.

“Ahem… Hey, everyone, get down here and hand in your phones!”

As the megaphone blared, birds flew and swallows scattered. Sister Lu yelled with her hands on her hips. Chi Meng closed her eyes and leaned back. Even the “study-holics” would beg for mercy under the megaphone’s power.

“Hear that? Wake up, all of you! Hand in your phones, hand in your phones!” Sister Lu shouted while tapping on her own phone. She played something, and immediately, the widely-listened-to theme song blared over the dorm’s broadcast system.

The theme song, accompanied by Sister Lu’s shouts of “Hand in your phones,” caused the trainees who had been up all night and had only just collapsed into sleep to groggily get out of bed.

Before long, a girl with messy hair bounced down the stairs. “I’m coming, I’m coming!”

Su Mengyao trotted over and handed in a very familiar, oversized children’s smart watch.

“Isn’t this Mengzai’s watch?” Sister Lu asked.

“Yes, yes,” Su Mengyao nodded, rubbing against Chi Meng for a hug, clinging to her like a koala. Su Mengyao didn’t own a phone. Chi Meng had bought a new one, so she gave the unused watch to Su Mengyao. It was better than letting it sit around.

The two talked in low voices.

Chi Meng asked, “Did you contact your family?”

Su Mengyao’s eyes curved in a smile. “Grandma’s doing great!”

“What did you put for your university applications?” Chi Meng asked again.

After the performance yesterday, only she, Song Jiaqi, and Su Mengyao were the high school graduates left at the training camp. Song Jiaqi’s family had filled out her applications directly for her. Su Mengyao had borrowed a staff member’s computer last night to fill out hers.

Su Mengyao obediently replied, “My first choice is Han Chinese Language and Literature at Shuangjiang University, then Education at Shuangjiang University…”

Shuangjiang University was a key local university in Shuangjiang Province, close to home. Chi Meng listened and nodded. If Su Mengyao hadn’t participated in the show and wasn’t planning on entering the entertainment industry, she might have just followed the typical path of college graduation and becoming a teacher.

“Did you double-check after submitting?” Chi Meng asked worriedly. Hearing her question, Su Mengyao hesitated, wondering if she should make time to check again today.

Sister Lu chimed in quietly from the side, “Mengzai, you sound like Yaoyao’s mother.”

The few trainees waiting in line to hand in their phones burst into laughter.

Yuan Sike yawned and asked curiously, “Sister Meng’s generation just went up again!”

“Sister Meng would be such a great mom—beautiful, sweet-voiced, and with a good personality. If I were a man, I’d marry a girl like Sister Meng~” the trainee next to her rubbed her hands together.

“What! You dare to covet Sister Meng!”

“I’m a woman, and I also want to marry a girl like Sister Meng!”

Chi Meng gave a polite smile.

So, I don’t have to be an older sister anymore?

Su Mengyao’s cowlick stood up straight. She hugged Chi Meng and barked loudly, “You’re not allowed to marry my Mom Meng!”

Song Jiaqi’s steps faltered on the stairs. She raised an eyebrow high, looking at the lively foyer.

Yuan Sike rolled up her sleeves and said in a strange, mocking tone, “A stepmother is let into the house, but self-cultivation is up to the individual. When I marry your mother, you’ll have to sort black beans from coal dust every day!”

Su Mengyao wailed tragically, “No—I don’t want to sort black beans! And I don’t want you as a stepmother!”

Yuan Sike put her hands on her hips and laughed wildly, “Gah-gah-gah! The world is not yours to command, little darling!”

“No—” Su Mengyao was sad and distressed. A flash of an idea suddenly crossed her mind. She looked up at the person walking over to hand in her phone, her eyes lighting up. “Song Jiaqi, Song Jiaqi! These people actually want to marry my Mom Meng! Aren’t you going to do anything?!”

Sister Lu and the other trainees all chorused, “Ooh~~”

Chi Meng also saw Song Jiaqi, who had her eyes downcast. The girl’s long fingers held a transparent bag, and her movement of casually tossing her phone into the bag was clean and sharp. The sound of the people around her cheering and jeering didn’t affect the expression on her face at all. Chi Meng’s gaze fell on her fingertips, recalling the pomegranate red from her dream.

Her eyes deepened slightly, and she curved her lips into a smile.

Beside her.

“Song Jiaqi, aren’t you going to do anything?” Yuan Sike mimicked Su Mengyao’s tone.

More and more people gathered on the stairs. Lin Tingxia hopped and skipped in the back, happily asking, “What’s going on, what’s all the excitement?”

Hua Xiaowei, standing in front, turned around and said seriously, “They’re talking about Chi Meng’s marriage!”

The others, who had arrived late, chimed in, “Ooh!!”

Song Jiaqi didn’t lift her head. Her voice carried the laziness of someone just waking up. “Leave me out of it.”

Childish.

Su Mengyao was in disbelief. What about the “Jiaqi Ru Meng” (Beautiful Dream/Dreamlike Jiaqi) they were known for!

Chi Meng lowered her head and shook it with a sigh.

Yuan Sike’s “Gah-gah-gah” had already turned into a triumphant “Jie-jie-jie,” looking utterly lawless. Song Jiaqi, with her hands tucked into the pockets of her purple jacket, walked towards the door, a look of complete indifference on her cold face. Just as she drew close to Chi Meng, she suddenly turned her head, her gaze landing on Chi Meng.

Chi Meng withdrew her own gaze and gently pushed Su Mengyao away. Su Mengyao thought her Mom Meng was about to personally deal with the villain Yuan, so she quickly retreated to the side, leaving room for her “birth mother” to act.

A stepmother-war was imminent. Yuan Sike stood ready for battle, and the audience prepared to clap and cheer.

In the charged atmosphere, Chi Meng suddenly turned around, took Song Jiaqi’s outstretched hand, and the two ran out, hand-in-hand, without looking back.

Eating is the most important thing in the world; who has time to play with you all!

Su Mengyao: “Mom!!”

Yuan Sike: “Oh, come on!”

“Your mom ran off with someone else!” she turned and mockingly laughed at Su Mengyao. Su Mengyao rubbed her eyes tearfully, “What are you so proud of! Your wife ran off with someone else!”

“Then I’ll just have to settle for you!” Yuan Sike rubbed her hands together.

“Hmph!” Su Mengyao pulled a tissue from her pocket and tossed it in the air, saying haughtily, “Nasty.”

The onlookers opened their mouths: “Yue—” (Gag—)

“Excuse me.” Qi Yan appeared, expressionless, and handed in her phone.

The spectators, who felt the morning drama had ended badly, dispersed, stating that living people still needed to eat. Before Yuan Sike could even hold hands with Su Mengyao, Su Mengyao was chasing after Qi Yan, tossing her tissue, her back etched with heartlessness and ingratitude.

“Wow.” Hua Xiaowei passed by, exclaiming, “The relationships in our training camp are so chaotic.”

Yuan Sike finally cornered someone and said with a grin, “Exactly, exactly! These people are really something. I strongly condemn this!”

“…” Your skin is thick, so everything you say is right.

Hua Xiaowei was silent, shook her head with her hands behind her back, and left. Yuan Sike slung an arm around her shoulder and strolled out contentedly.

“Do we have a rule that you must go out in groups of two or more?” Lin Tingxia hesitated on the steps, saying seriously, “If there is, I’ll call Sister Xiaokui or someone else over.”

The three people from her company all overslept. She got the lowest score in a group dice roll and was forced to get up to turn in their phones and bring them food. She was the poor little thing who had to sort black beans!

The A-Class trainees on the first floor were slow to come out and hand in their phones. Xue Weirán and Chen Zhu happened to run into each other, one in front and one behind. Xue Weirán patted Lin Tingxia and smiled, “Alright, come with me.”

Lin Tingxia’s eyes sparkled. She quickly followed, saying cheerfully, “Thank you, you’re so kind. I can call you Mom too~”

Xue Weirán’s face darkened. She glanced at Chen Zhu’s secretly smiling profile and lightly snorted.

“No need, thank you.”

Lin Tingxia also took out a tissue, wiping her eyes, “Wuwuwu.”

“…That’s stealing my character!”

Lin Tingxia immediately changed. She covered her face with the tissue, “Hee hee hee.”

“How’s that? My focus is on smiling without showing my teeth.”

Xue Weirán: “…”

Whatever makes you happy.

You. Whatever makes you happy.

A night had passed, and the Star Journey (Xing Qi Cheng) trending topics were all over the major portals, already setting up to be this year’s hit variety show. Even though viewers had watched the stages during the live broadcast, the production team’s camera work intentionally included wide shots of the audience and mentor seats during filming, occasionally catching a trainee off-guard. This type of hook-like ambiguity made people unable to resist rewatching the show.

Some audience members who had attended the show live had filmed videos of the performances, but those would only be released after the next episode aired. They could only suppress their excitement and upload beautiful photos from the event for everyone to see.

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