I Struggle to Survive in a Girl Group [Transmigration] - Chapter 5

The two teams consisted of ten people in total. Excluding Huang Xiao, who was acting as the referee, and Yu Tingbai, who was the prize, the remaining eight were divided into four pairs to compete against each other. The winners would then face off to determine the ultimate champion.

“An Qing, what are you spacing out for?”

Shen Siqi bounced over, grabbed An Qing’s arm, and pulled her toward a corner of the practice room.

Excitedly, she said, “We’re a team, come on, hurry up!”

Along one wall of the practice room was a row of soft seats with a long table in front, usually used by trainees for meals or storing miscellaneous items. Now, it conveniently served as the competition area.

An Qing let herself be dragged along, her mind still preoccupied with what Yu Tingbai had just said.

“An Qing, you wouldn’t let anyone else kiss me, right?”

Of course, Yu Tingbai didn’t actually want to be kissed by her she was just setting up a difficult challenge.

Watching her prey struggle and exhaust themselves over a single remark must be so amusing, QAQ.

An Qing sighed inwardly and stole a glance at Yu Tingbai, who was still leaning against the wall, unmoved.

Yu Tingbai was looking back at her. Their eyes met, and with a faint smirk, Yu Tingbai silently mouthed two words.

“Good luck.”

An Qing: “…”

If you really didn’t want someone else to kiss you, why did you agree to this in the first place?

She was starting to realize that Yu Tingbai’s way of getting back at her was to toy with her to death.

Shen Siqi pushed An Qing into a seat and then eagerly sat down across from her.

Word of the commotion had spread, and trainees from neighboring rooms came to watch, forming a crowd of over a dozen people around the competitors at the table.

Shen Siqi had already rolled up her sleeves, putting on a fierce expression as she beckoned An Qing with a finger.

“An Qing, bring it on!”

Win or lose, she wasn’t going to back down in spirit!

But her soft features made her look more like an angry little puppy than anything intimidating.

An Qing sighed, glanced at Shen Siqi’s slender wrists, and raised her hand.

Shen Siqi gasped. “You’re left-handed?”

An Qing shook her head. “No.”

Growing up, her family had been poor, and she’d done plenty of heavy labor, giving her far more strength than most girls her age. For self-defense, she’d even trained in judo and boxing. Though she looked delicate, she was surprisingly strong.

To win the championship, she’d have to compete at least three times, with each round getting harder. She wanted to conserve some energy.

Shen Siqi blinked, then suddenly understood. “So you ”

An Qing smiled, half-joking, half-serious. “I need to save some strength for the next match.”

Wasn’t that basically assuming she’d lose?!

Shen Siqi fumed. “Grr! Just you wait!”

Three seconds later K.O.

Huang Xiao raised An Qing’s hand and announced loudly, “Shen Siqi vs. An Qing An Qing wins!”

Shen Siqi hadn’t expected to be defeated so quickly. She huffed in frustration before reluctantly retreating to the spectator area.

The next opponent was Chu Qing.

Chu Qing clearly didn’t take An Qing seriously. She came from a large farm, having grown up in nature, and was physically robust.

Besides, An Qing had always acted like a delicate princess complaining about the slightest exertion, unable to lift a finger.

How could such a pampered girl compare to her, a wild horse of the grasslands?

Chu Qing raised an eyebrow and taunted, “An Qing, if you want to beat me, try herding cattle for three days first!”

An Qing was still pondering the connection between herding cows and arm wrestling when Chu Qing had already taken the lead and sat down.

Her eyes darkened, radiating a fierce aura.

“An Qing, come on!”

Shen Siqi had completely shaken off the shadow of her earlier defeat and was now stirring up excitement in the crowd.

“An Qing, did you hear what she said? If it were me, I wouldn’t take that!”

An Qing: “…”

So now you’re brave again, huh?

She looked at Chu Qing and still extended her left hand.

Chu Qing was taken aback, then narrowed her eyes dangerously. “Are you serious? Just because you beat Siqi, you think you can take me on too?”

An Qing grasped her hand and, with the fiercest tone, uttered the most cowardly words: “I’ll have you know! This hand I’m giving it up today! Waaah.”

Amidst the laughter of the onlookers, the second match began.

Chu Qing’s strength was on an entirely different level from Shen Siqi’s. From the very start, the two were locked in a stalemate.

“Go, An Qing! Go, Chu Qing!”

Shen Siqi was beyond excited, even more invested than she had been during her own match. She cheered for one, then the other, thoroughly enjoying herself.

She bounced behind An Qing, unconsciously taking a step back only to accidentally bump into someone behind her.

“Sorry!” Shen Siqi quickly turned to apologize, but when she saw who it was, she couldn’t help but exclaim, “Huh?”

“Yu…”

Yu Tingbai raised a finger to her lips with a gentle smile, signaling for silence. She then pointed in An Qing’s direction, as if telling Shen Siqi not to disturb the two competitors.

Shen Siqi obediently closed her mouth, though her mind was buzzing with questions.

Yu Tingbai had been resting in the corner earlier, when had she arrived? Without making a sound, too.

Just as she was thinking this, she felt a light tap on her shoulder.

Yu Tingbai calmly squeezed past her, effortlessly taking her spot and standing right behind An Qing.

Seconds ticked by, and Chu Qing was inwardly shocked. Who would’ve thought that An Qing, with her soft and sweet appearance, was actually a freakishly strong girl!

Losing to An Qing now would be beyond embarrassing. She poured all her strength into the match, determined to win. But An Qing’s competitive spirit seemed even fiercer than hers. Her aqua-blue eyes burned like two little flames, and her slender frame seemed to harbor an endless well of power.

Chu Qing gritted her teeth and held on for nearly ten minutes, but in the end, she had to admit defeat, albeit reluctantly.

The trainees gathered around them erupted in cheers, completely stunned.

This was beyond unexpected! Chu Qing was famously strong no one had imagined An Qing would beat her.

Chu Qing took it in stride, clasping her hands together in a gesture of respect. “I overestimated myself.”

She wasn’t the type to be a sore loser, and An Qing had performed impressively all day. Her earlier grievances toward An Qing had significantly diminished.

An Qing grinned and returned the gesture. “You flatter me.”

She rubbed her sore left hand, silently shedding two streams of tears in her heart.

The final match was against the reigning arm-wrestling champion of their group, Ren Mengmeng. Despite her adorable name, Ren Mengmeng was actually a cool, short-haired girl who regularly lifted weights, boasting an astonishing amount of muscle.

An Qing stared at Ren Mengmeng’s arms, which were a full size thicker than hers, and felt a wave of despair.

Wasn’t this supposed to be an idol survival show? Why were future girl group members engaging in such brutish activities?

“Hurry up, An Qing, are you scared? It’s not too late to back out now.”

Ren Mengmeng urged, expertly taunting.

Although An Qing had beaten Chu Qing, she believed it was just a fluke. Maybe Chu Qing’s hand had cramped, or maybe she’d been bribed to throw the match either way, it certainly wasn’t because a delicate princess like An Qing was actually strong.

An Qing’s heart was bleeding, but her words didn’t falter.

“I’ll show you who’s scared of who!”

She took her position, and at Huang Xiao’s signal, Ren Mengmeng exerted force with lightning speed, trying to slam An Qing’s arm down in an instant.

But An Qing’s hand only wavered slightly before quickly returning to its original position.

Ren Mengmeng was shocked and immediately held her breath, gathering strength, no longer daring to underestimate her opponent.

This time, An Qing was using her right hand, but she felt uncertain. Ren Mengmeng’s arm was like a steel-reinforced concrete pillar, standing firm and unyielding. An Qing poured all her strength into the struggle, but she could only hold her ground victory still seemed out of reach.

Bit by bit, her strength drained away, and An Qing gradually felt like she couldn’t hold on much longer.

Then, a soft hand rested on her shoulder.

Yu Tingbai’s gentle voice sounded in her ear.

“An Qing, you can do it.”

Hearing Yu Tingbai’s encouragement, An Qing instinctively wanted to respond.

She was a bit scatterbrained, often speaking before thinking. And right now, with the match so intense, she didn’t have the energy to overthink.

So everyone watched as An Qing’s face flushed red, her breath steadying before she suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Yu Tingbai! I’m coming for you!!”

The entire room froze.

What were these two doing?

Not just Ren Mengmeng everyone present was stunned.

This was her chance!

An Qing didn’t care anymore. With a sudden burst of strength, veins bulging on her forehead, she slammed Ren Mengmeng’s arm down in an instant.

Ren Mengmeng: What the ?

It all happened too fast. From Yu Tingbai speaking to her defeat, no more than five seconds had passed.

Among the watching trainees, someone was the first to react, laughing until they were gasping for breath. Soon, the laughter spread like wildfire.

“Tingbai, you’re biased!”

“You just wanted An Qing to kiss you, didn’t you?”

“An Qing, what was that shout for?”

“Does Yu Tingbai’s name give you a buff or something?”

“Is this love? It must be love!”

From the moment An Qing faced off against Chu Qing, Yu Tingbai had been standing right behind her. An Qing had been too focused to notice, but everyone else had seen it clearly.

Many found it strange. They’d all witnessed An Qing repeatedly provoking Yu Tingbai before these two had clearly been at odds. So why did they seem so close now? Were they just faking it for the sake of a CP ship?

Truly, in the entertainment industry, there were no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.

After the trainees had laughed and teased for a while, Huang Xiao raised An Qing’s arm for the third time, declaring her the final victor.

An Qing stood frozen for two seconds before realizing what she’d just done.

It felt like something in her brain had exploded with a boom, leaving her dizzy and disoriented.

Ren Mengmeng also realized why she’d lost. She looked at An Qing with a complicated expression and said, “I didn’t expect you to go all out like that.”

An Qing’s shout had been too genuine, brimming with desire for victory or perhaps the prize. Whatever her motivation, Ren Mengmeng couldn’t help but admire her for it.

An Qing was on the verge of tears from embarrassment. “That’s not what I meant.”

Someone quickly chimed in, “What does that mean? Does it mean ‘I love you’?”

Another voice added, “Is it the kind of meaning that can’t be aired?”

Forget it the more she explained, the worse it got. Better to say nothing.

At that moment, Yu Tingbai, surrounded by the crowd, had already made his way to her.

From the onlookers, several voices rose in unison.

“An Qing, go claim your prize!”

“Claim it! Claim it!”

An Qing lifted her gaze, meeting those beautiful eyes directly.