I Struggle to Survive in a Girl Group [Transmigration] - Chapter 14

In an instant, the expressions on everyone’s faces shifted dramatically.

The members of the Prejudice team, seeing they hadn’t been moved, collectively sighed in relief.

You Shuang could barely contain her joy. She had chosen Prejudice specifically because of Yu Tingbai, and after Yi Zhuo moved her to Childhood Sweethearts, she thought her chances were ruined. Yu Tingbai was the last to choose a song and could go wherever she wanted.

But to her surprise, Yu Tingbai had given up Prejudice and ultimately chose to join her group.

Did this mean Yu Tingbai also had some interest in her? At the very least, she wasn’t opposed.

An Qing, on the other hand, felt a mix of emotions joy at being unexpectedly paired with Yu Tingbai again, but worry over having You Shuang, who clearly had designs on her fiancée, in the same group.

You Shuang was beautiful, charming, and skilled at winning people over. Figuring out how to defeat this rival and prevent her fiancée from shifting affections was a matter of life and death.

Moreover, An Qing suspected that Yu Tingbai had chosen Childhood Sweethearts at the last moment precisely because You Shuang had expressed a desire to be in the same group before the song selection. This filled An Qing with a deep sense of crisis.

The other two members of Childhood Sweethearts were overjoyed. Ranked near the bottom, they had prepared themselves to be tossed around like unwanted baggage, and ending up with the most challenging song was expected.

They knew they wouldn’t debut but hoped to gain some popularity to help their future careers. When Childhood Sweethearts was initially ignored, their hearts had sunk. But then, against all odds, An Qing and You Shuang joined, and finally, even Yu Tingbai arrived, reigniting their hopes.

The moment Yu Tingbai stepped off the stage, You Shuang warmly greeted her.

“This is wonderful, Tingbai. Looking forward to working together.”

Yu Tingbai smiled and nodded at her.

Encouraged, You Shuang wanted to say more, but she noticed Yu Tingbai didn’t return to her original seat. Instead, she naturally took the empty spot next to An Qing.

Originally, Yu Tingbai had been sitting between her and An Qing. Now, An Qing and an empty seat separated them, putting a noticeable distance between her and Yu Tingbai.

You Shuang’s eyes flickered with displeasure, but moving over now would seem too deliberate. Besides, Jiang Chen was already on stage moving to the next segment, making it impolite to change seats. Reluctantly, she let it go.

An Qing, preoccupied with strategizing her next move, only noticed that Yu Tingbai had returned, not that she had changed seats.

Just as she was carefully choosing words to exchange pleasantries, Yu Tingbai spoke first.

“An Qing.”

Yu Tingbai leaned in slightly, resting a hand on the back of An Qing’s chair almost as if she were draping it around her neck. Her eyes gleamed as she lowered her voice.

“What were you praying for earlier?”

An Qing froze, her forehead throbbing faintly again.

What else would she be praying for? Of course, it was to be in the same group as Yu Tingbai.

That beautiful profile was now inches away, quietly waiting for her answer. Her cheeks burned involuntarily, and An Qing pressed her lips together, masking her fluster with a scowl.

“I was praying for world peace.”

Yu Tingbai: “Oh, so you were praying to be in the same group as me.”

An Qing: “If you knew, why ask!”

From the side, You Shuang watched everything unfold, her fingers tightening slowly on her knees.

What’s going on? Weren’t these two on bad terms?

Looking at them now, that doesn’t seem to be the case at all.

Could they have buried the hatchet for the sake of popularity, agreeing to create a CP pairing?

No way. Even if that were true, she still had to fight for her chance.

The finals would begin in two weeks, broadcast live with high demands for the stage performance.

Time was tight. As soon as the groups were finalized, the trainees immediately dove into training.

Yu Tingbai led everyone to an empty practice room, where they sat on the floor to study the performance song together.

An Qing sat beside Yu Tingbai, carefully reading the lyrics.

[A]
Fly a paper kite
Dispel springtime laziness
Books cast aside on the desk
Stealing half a day of leisure

[B]
Light a wisp of tea smoke
Cicadas hum in unison
Starlight falls upon the water
Stranded in your eyes

[C]
When the season of falling flowers arrives
Maple leaves dye the horizon red
Drinking together in the courtyard, smiles faint
Warm wine and lanterns, a peaceful slumber

[D]
Sweet wintersweet on the branches
Another season of snowfall
The evening breeze whispers lifelong wishes
Year after year, blossoms and full moons

The song was divided into four parts [A], [B], [C], and [D] followed by a chorus section. The rap part, [E], required writing original lyrics.

The team’s rapper, Zhou Shuang, had extensive experience in songwriting and volunteered for the task. She repeatedly promised to finish the first draft of the rap lyrics tonight, even if it meant staying up all night, then secluded herself to work.

Aside from Yu Tingbai, An Qing, and You Shuang, the team had one more trainee named Gu Caicai, a strong vocalist ranked lower in the standings. However, compared to the others, her appearance was less striking and lacked memorability.

In the dance MV, [A] and [B] had many interactive moments, as did [C] and [D], especially in the first half, which almost felt like two separate subgroups. The lyrics also mirrored each other spring/summer and autumn/winter creating a strong CP vibe.

The question now was how to divide the remaining four members into two groups.

An Qing was certain that all three others in the room wanted to be paired with Yu Tingbai. As for who Yu Tingbai would choose, she had no idea.

You Shuang naturally wouldn’t miss this opportunity and was the first to speak up.

“Tingbai, which part do you want to sing?”

During the earlier discussion, they had quickly decided on the center position for this performance. To cozy up to Yu Tingbai, You Shuang had willingly conceded the role without competition and even recommended her. Meanwhile, An Qing had been preoccupied with figuring out how to survive longer and had no interest in fighting for the center spot.

The other two trainees wouldn’t dare to step forward at this point either. Based on past experience, even if Yu Tingbai wasn’t the center, she would still be the brightest star on stage. Rather than exerting effort for no reward, it was better to go with the flow and earn some goodwill.

So now, Yu Tingbai was both the leader and the center, giving her priority in choosing.

Yu Tingbai closed the lyric sheet and tossed the question back.

“Which part do you want? I’ll take it into consideration.”

You Shuang froze, still processing the meaning behind those words, when Yu Tingbai continued.

“Our vocal styles are quite similar. It’d be a good fit.”

An Qing’s heart sank.

Sure enough, Yu Tingbai had chosen Childhood Sweethearts specifically for You Shuang.

Yu Tingbai, you two-timing scoundrel!

However, even this couldn’t dampen her fighting spirit. An Qing quickly organized her thoughts, planning to take the initiative and speak up to seize the opportunity to collaborate with Yu Tingbai. Even if she failed, at least she would have tried.

This was practically an open hint! Yu Tingbai was accommodating her choice!

You Shuang was overjoyed. Her original intention was simply to work with Yu Tingbai she didn’t care which part she sang. Without much thought, she blurted out, “Part A.”

But immediately, she felt her answer was too casual and might seem dismissive. Seeing Yu Tingbai looking at her with an encouraging gaze, as if urging her to continue, she hastily added, “I love spring the most, but summer is nice too.”

Yu Tingbai smiled. “Then you take Part A, and I ”

“Wait!”

Just as Yu Tingbai was about to say, “I’ll take Part B,” An Qing hurriedly interrupted. But Yu Tingbai didn’t give her a chance to speak, deliberately raising her voice to drown her out.

“I’ll take Part C. I like autumn.”

An Qing: ???

The sudden twist left her stunned.

You Shuang was even more aggrieved. Yu Tingbai had just said she would consider her opinion, yet in the next second, she switched to another group. What kind of consideration was that?!

Yu Tingbai pretended not to notice and calmly continued assigning parts. “An Qing has silver hair, which suits the image of winter, she’ll take Part D. Caicai was born in summer, so she’ll take Part B. How does that sound?”

Only then did An Qing snap out of it. “I have no objections.”

Though she still didn’t fully understand the reasoning, she figured she’d secure her spot first.

Gu Caicai also nodded, her face lighting up with surprise probably not expecting Yu Tingbai to remember her birthday was in summer.

Since when did silver hair have to mean winter?! She could always dye it!

You Shuang stood there speechless, wanting to argue further. But everyone else had already agreed, and besides, she had been the one to pick Part A in the first place. There was no way she could backtrack now.

Seeing that it was already past seven, the group decided to grab dinner and practice separately, planning to regroup the next morning to see how it all came together.

You Shuang seemed utterly disheartened. Without pestering Yu Tingbai further, she vanished in the blink of an eye.

“Let’s go eat.”

Yu Tingbai lifted her hand and lightly tapped An Qing’s head with the rolled-up lyrics sheet.

An Qing had been listening to music with her headphones on, intending to practice a little longer. But she couldn’t exactly refuse her fiancée, so she got up and followed Yu Tingbai to the cafeteria.

During dinner, her curiosity finally got the better of her. “You didn’t want to be in the same group as You Shuang?”

Yu Tingbai paused briefly with her chopsticks but didn’t speak, only giving a reserved nod.

There must have been some past conflict. Since Yu Tingbai didn’t seem inclined to explain, An Qing didn’t press further.

Thinking back to Yu Tingbai’s flawless reasoning earlier, she couldn’t help but admire her.

An Qing asked again, “What if You Shuang had said she wanted to sing about autumn?”

Without even looking up, Yu Tingbai replied, “Then I’d have said I like spring.”

An Qing: “What about me and Caicai?”

“Caicai once released a song called Winter Love,” Yu Tingbai finally glanced at her, her tone indifferent.

“As for you.”

That exquisitely beautiful face once again wore its familiar sly smile. Yu Tingbai tapped her chopsticks against the stainless steel tray, like some kind of ominous signal.

“If you’re so eager to be in the same group as me, why would you care which part you sing?”

An Qing:

Doesn’t she have any pride?