I Became the Top Competitor in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 8

“Good name,” Chi Meng said.

It was just a pity she had found out a bit too early—it should have been introduced in this way.

Chi Meng let go of her hand. She suddenly thought: the radiant Song Jiaqi that Xiao Jiu had spoken of must be even more dazzling than she was now.

Because of the arrival of a trainee from Renxing Entertainment, the trainees present—especially those who had chosen the front seats at the beginning—felt immense pressure. They could only keep chatting with their companions, joking at their own expense to ease the tension.

“It’s fine, we’re just here to gain some experience!”

“Others may be excellent, but we’re not bad either!”

“Exactly! I just love that kind of self-deceptive thinking!”

Laughing and chatting, more and more trainees joined in, and the seats in the hall gradually filled. Chi Meng finally had the occasional chance to chat with others. Although Song Jiaqi wasn’t warm, she always responded.

Until—her mind suddenly went “buzz,” as if a thunderous bell had been installed inside her head. With every strike, the sky changed color—lightning, thunder, wind, and storm. Her whole body went numb, and for a moment, she felt like she was back at that deathly moment, her soul nearly drifting away.

Even more intense than the first time she saw Song Jiaqi.

019: “???”

019: “!!!”

019: “???”

019: “May I use some uncivilized words—why is the female lead here?”

019: “Forgive me, my program is malfunctioning, but why is the female lead here?!”

Chi Meng’s head was filled with its mechanical shrieks. She rubbed her forehead and said sincerely amid the clamor, “Could you lower your voice—who?”

“Ahhhh—” 019’s screech was like a rooster’s crow, deafening.

Chi Meng felt as though she were listening to ghostly music that would make her deaf.

“Another individual trainee.”

Someone nearby spoke. A figure walked out from the passage. Once again, everyone in the hall stood up.

Except for one.

Song Jiaqi crossed her arms, her eyes dark and heavy like stone, silently staring at the smiling, dazzling girl walking onto the stage. Her brain buzzed violently, as though someone had pried open her skull, gripped her brain, squeezed out all the matter, and then poured in a full bottle of vodka. Her vision spun; the world collapsed. Countless lines of light and darkness flickered before her eyes.

The girl below tilted her head and waved cheerfully to everyone on stage: “Hello everyone, I’m individual trainee Su Mengyao. I hope we can get along well!”

Applause broke out on stage as people smiled at her, watching her pick a seat.

Chi Meng kept a gentle smile on her lips, but once she sat down, a cold draft brushed over her, making her hair stand on end.

Chi Meng: What karma am I paying for.jpg

Before she could find the source of the chill, a low, dark voice sounded in her ear.

Chi Meng: “…???”

She couldn’t believe someone would speak such a “sincere” curse with their mic still on! Shocked, she turned her head toward Song Jiaqi, eyes widening.

This was rude, friend!

But Song Jiaqi didn’t notice the question marks in her gaze. Her eyes went past Chi Meng’s shoulder, storm clouds gathering, ever more dangerous.

“How…”

Her words were cut off by a voice from behind.

“Excuse me, can I sit here? 98, such a lucky number—I like it!” said the sweet girl behind Chi Meng.

Chi Meng’s eyes were still fixed on Song Jiaqi’s face, studying her. Was the so-called confident, spirited aura actually something she had misunderstood? Was Song Jiaqi instead about to carve her own path, her true “new star” journey? Distracted, she didn’t turn to respond. At this moment, Song Jiaqi finally noticed Chi Meng’s gaze. Slowly, she shifted her eyes.

The storm had not yet cleared. Her inner wilderness was nothing but a desolate sky and barren land. She glanced at Chi Meng’s stunned expression, lowered her lashes, and suddenly pouted before turning her head away.

“F—”

Chi Meng: “…”

Never mind her pure eighteen-year-old ears catching what she just heard—how could someone curse while looking so aggrieved?

Profanity! Absolute profanity!

Don’t think she couldn’t hear just because you turned your head!

Friend, you’re inventing a whole new kind of talent show!

Too wild.

Chi Meng sighed inwardly. As expected of an eighteen-year-old who drank and smoked—her heart was full of wildness. Cold indifference was just an act; casualness was her true brand.

Seeing Song Jiaqi’s head turned away from her, Chi Meng helplessly sighed, then turned back toward the girl who had taken seat 98. She greeted her, casually giving her a once-over.

So this was the female lead.

As expected of the female lead!

Chi Meng’s eyes brightened. She asked 019 silently: “If I say my line now, does it count as completing the task?” Her mission in this world was, upon meeting the female lead one day, to say: ‘I really like the drama you acted in. You were great in xx. Can I get your autograph?’

In the script, this exchange would only last a few words. Nothing more than a passerby role.

But 019 was still malfunctioning and couldn’t reply.

So Chi Meng greeted the female lead first, extending her hand.

“Hello, I’m Chi Meng, an individual trainee.”

Su Mengyao, who had just been ignored, lit up with a bright smile. She eagerly extended both hands, clasped Chi Meng’s, and shook it up and down, her brows curved in delight. “That’s great! I’m also an individual trainee. My name is Su Mengyao. From now on, we have to support each other!”

Holding her hand tightly, she leaned closer, the familiar scent of shampoo drifting over. In a whisper, Su Mengyao said, “I’ll tell you a secret—I’m really bad at this!”

Then she lifted her head and looked at Chi Meng, her black hair fluffy and soft like fur, eyes shining bright, like a little puppy going “awoo, awoo.”

Chi Meng couldn’t help shaking hands with her again: “It’s fine. I must be worse than you!”

“Eh?” Su Mengyao tilted her head, the small braid atop her head tilting with it. “No, no, I must be worse!”

“No, it’s me!”

“It’s me, it’s me!”

The two of them humbly quarreled, “clicking instantly,” chatting like old friends.

Beside them, Song Jiaqi still frowned, lost in thought. Why was the female lead here? At this time, shouldn’t she still be in school, anonymous, until two years later when a frustrated agent discovered her and she officially began acting?

Once famous, a celebrity had no secrets. People even knew which primary school she attended. How could no one have dug up this history? Su Mengyao had never participated in any talent show!

Could it really be because she herself had joined the program that the whole book’s plot had changed?

Impossible.

Song Jiaqi immediately denied the idea, smiling bitterly.

Who was she to deserve that?

Would the world really deliver its beloved daughter to her, just like that? Or was it because the book required someone to be stepped on by the female lead, and whether she liked it or not, she had to play that role?

“Ahem.” Renxing Entertainment’s team leader, Shen Zhu, reached out and carefully patted Song Jiaqi’s arm, whispering into the mic, “Jiaqi, don’t frown.”

Snapping back to herself, Song Jiaqi rubbed her forehead.

“Sorry, I distracted you,” she said. Then she noticed the two girls beside her chatting happily, and her brows furrowed again. “I’ll sit in 104.”

104 was at the far edge.

Given Renxing Entertainment’s powerful background, their trainees were bound to draw attention. Song Jiaqi didn’t want to sit with them for this reason as well. She had already resigned herself to lying flat, and she didn’t want to drag anyone else down.

“It’s fine, you should sit here. Besides…” Shen Zhu cleared her throat and whispered, “No one else wants to sit in your spot.”

She glanced meaningfully at Chi Meng, who was happily chatting with the new trainee.

Song Jiaqi raised an eyebrow.

“And now there’s another one,” Shen Zhu added softly. “The competition is really strong this year. Xinghuo’s trainees aren’t even here yet, and I can already feel the pressure.”

“You’re strong too,” Song Jiaqi reassured her. “But don’t count me in—you know what I’m like.”

After speaking, she pressed her lips together, emotions tangled.

Not only did she know herself, but she also knew what the female lead was like. At least she herself had learned a few skills. But the female lead? She was a blank page. Song Jiaqi had even heard rumors—Su Mengyao could barely sing on key.

Still, Song Jiaqi sneered inwardly. She was the female lead, the world’s center. Even if she couldn’t do anything, the world would still find a way to place her on the brightest stage.

Since Su Mengyao had appeared in Star Journey, there was no need to doubt it: one of the debut spots was definitely hers. And not just any spot—the center. A perfect underdog-to-star storyline.

At the thought, she glanced at Chi Meng’s turned head and mocked silently. The female lead would always have someone guiding her forward.

Looking at the eager faces around her, she seemed to see her old self, full of confidence. Taking a deep breath, she forced a casual tone as she told Shen Zhu: “All I’ve got is a pretty face.”

Shen Zhu was quiet for a moment before replying honestly: “A face is enough.”

[Other than her face, Song Jiaqi is worthless!]

The sharp voice stabbed through her mind, rattling her eardrums. Song Jiaqi’s heart pounded; her vision went black. She fought down the nausea rising in her throat and slumped back into her seat.

What’s going on?

Caught between fire and ice, Chi Meng was puzzled. She asked 019: “Do these two have a grudge? Did they know each other before?”

Finally climbing back online, 019 wept: “I don’t know. I’ve already requested a main system review to check whether the plot has deviated. According to the veterans’ experience, under a supporting-role system, the host wouldn’t meet the female lead and female rival this early—or have so much interaction!”

Chi Meng was silent for a moment. Putting aside the “who leads who” issue, she asked 019: “I’ve always wondered. This is clearly a real world. Why talk about ‘female leads’ and ‘female rivals’?”

“Because this world is a novel,” 019 explained. “The female lead’s halo and plotline will always be stronger than others’.”

“But that’s only from a reader’s perspective. How do you define a protagonist? Compared to the female lead, is the world’s richest person less successful? What about politicians who control nations, scientists who change eras, or ordinary people like me? Without the female lead, do we not live?”

019 froze, dumbfounded.

“Even if you tell me this world is fake, logically speaking—isn’t my existence real right now? Don’t I control my body, my mind, my wealth?”

019 was overwhelmed: “…”

019: “I don’t know. I’ll ask the main system to investigate.”

Chi Meng smiled. “I was just rambling. Don’t take it seriously. I’m still grateful you gave me a second life, Mom Nine.”

019: “I am NOT the host’s mom!”

Blushing furiously, it logged off.

When the next group of trainees entered, Chi Meng stood and applauded again. But as soon as she sat down, she suddenly turned and grabbed Song Jiaqi’s hand.

“Dreamyao, this is my friend Song Jiaqi. Jiaqi, this is the friend I just made, Su Mengyao. You two should get to know each other!” Chi Meng said brightly.

Even if the original novel divided people into “female lead” and “female rival,” in her eyes, they were both cute little sisters.

Song Jiaqi, who had been brooding in her storm cloud, never expected such a “heavenly hand” to suddenly intervene—grabbing her hand and forcing it together with someone she never thought she’d touch. In that instant, she froze stiff like a rock.

Su Mengyao’s ahoge bobbed happily as she blinked and clasped Song Jiaqi’s hand, shaking it vigorously.

“Nice to meet you! I’m individual trainee Su Mengyao. Let’s do our best together!”

“Mhm.”

Chi Meng lightly scratched the back of Song Jiaqi’s hand with her palm, imitating Su Mengyao’s cheerful tone: “Let’s be good friends!”

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