I Struggle to Survive in a Girl Group [Transmigration] - Chapter 6

Yu Tingbai was fully aware of her role as the “prize,” wearing a confident smile as she tucked a few stray strands of long hair behind her ear, revealing a small but perfectly contoured side profile of her face.

As if to make it easier for An Qing, she even deliberately leaned in a bit closer.

Wait, is this for real? A kiss on the cheek?

An Qing stared blankly at that small patch of fair, soft skin, her throat unconsciously bobbing as she hesitated to act.

Her face burned fiercely, her neck flushing red along with it.

“An Qing, don’t chicken out.”

“Just go for it.”

Someone couldn’t hold back, urging impatiently.

An Qing felt like crying but had no tears. How could she not chicken out? She couldn’t figure out what Yu Tingbai was thinking at all. If the other girl got angry after the kiss, the consequences would be more than she could handle.

But under the watchful eyes of everyone, she couldn’t think of a reason not to go through with it. Besides, Yu Tingbai was being so proactive surely she wasn’t the type to back out now…

An Qing clenched her fists and steeled herself.

Just as she finally mustered the courage to rise onto her tiptoes, Yu Tingbai took half a step back, evading the kiss. She lowered her gaze slightly, concealing the hidden amusement in her eyes.

“Never mind, don’t tease An Qing”

Her words were cut short because, as she stepped back, an anonymous bystander, unable to bear the tension any longer, resolutely reached out and gave An Qing a push.

Startled, An Qing lost her balance and stumbled forward.

The next second, the crowd erupted.

“Gasp ”

“No way!”

“Hahaha, oh my god!”

Amid the exclamations, An Qing wrapped her arms around Yu Tingbai’s waist and planted a firm kiss right on her lips.

The suddenness of it left both of them frozen in shock.

The sensation on her lips was fragrant and soft, followed by a coppery, sweet taste.

An Qing hastily released Yu Tingbai and straightened up. Seeing the faint traces of blood on Yu Tingbai’s red lips, panic surged through her.

Not only had she kissed the wrong spot by sheer accident, but due to the force of the push from behind, her teeth had knocked against Yu Tingbai’s lips, drawing blood.

Yu Tingbai dabbed at the cut on her lip with a fingertip, thoughtfully examining the smear of blood.

She had realized early on that An Qing, perhaps out of reliance as a newcomer, tended to listen to her. So as long as An Qing won the game, she had plenty of ways to prevent the kiss from happening. Just when her plan was about to succeed, it had spectacularly backfired.

Oh well, it wasn’t that important anyway.

When An Qing had leaned in, though Yu Tingbai felt some discomfort, she hadn’t experienced the expected irritation or aversion. Instead, her mood remained unexpectedly calm. Watching An Qing flustered and utterly lost, she even felt a little amused.

The whole situation was just too entertaining.

“I’m sorry!”

“I’m sorry!”

Two voices spoke at the same time.

One came from An Qing, the other from Shen Siqi in the crowd.

Noticing both An Qing and Yu Tingbai looking at her, Shen Siqi hurried to explain, “I didn’t mean any harm, I just wanted to help…”

Help with what?!

An Qing was so furious she nearly passed out. Shen Siqi, you’re useless at arm wrestling but suddenly strong when it comes to pushing people?!

She didn’t have time to lecture Shen Siqi now. Pulling a tissue from her pocket, she moved to wipe the blood from Yu Tingbai’s lip.

Yu Tingbai cooperated, leaning closer with an unruffled expression, showing no resistance.

Luckily, it was just a small cut. An Qing sighed in relief, careful not to hurt her as she dabbed gently.

“Tingbai, are you okay?”

“Let me see how bad it is.”

“I have some ointment, I’ll give it to you later.”

The surrounding trainees finally snapped out of it. Seeing Yu Tingbai injured, they all felt somewhat guilty and began offering words of comfort.

After all, their relentless egging on had contributed to this outcome.

“I’m fine, don’t worry.”

Seeing Yu Tingbai smile as usual, Shen Siqi perked up again.

Her reaction time was much slower than the others, she only just realized why An Qing had insisted on using her left hand from the start. Excitedly grabbing An Qing’s arm, she exclaimed, “Wow, it’s like Tian Ji’s horse racing strategy! An Qing, you’re so smart!”

Was that really how “Tian Ji’s horse racing” was supposed to be used?

Amused, An Qing pushed her away. “Don’t touch my arm, it hurts.”

After a full day of training, everyone was exhausted. Once the excitement died down, they chattered and laughed for a bit before dispersing.

Shen Siqi stood by the door, urging Yu Tingbai and An Qing, who were still packing up.

“Hurry up, hurry up, let’s go eat!”

“Coming.”

An Qing responded, sneaking a glance at herself in the mirror. Good grief, who was this blushing beauty with a neck and ears flushed crimson?!

She grabbed a bottle of chilled soda and rolled it across her cheeks, trying to cool herself down physically.

Suddenly, Yu Tingbai leaned in with interest, studying her for a couple of seconds.

“W-w-what?”

Startled, An Qing thought she was about to face retribution and stumbled over her words.

A hand patted the top of her head, as if to reassure her.

“Good work.”

An Qing forced a dry laugh. “No big deal.”

It suddenly struck her that from the moment this absurd competition began, everything had been unfolding exactly as Yu Tingbai had planned.

But what if.

“Are you wondering what I would’ve done if you lost?”

Yu Tingbai had already finished packing and was now resting her chin on her hand, watching her.

At this point, why bother pretending to be some innocent little rabbit?!

An Qing angrily stuffed her things into her bag but couldn’t resist her curiosity. Playing along, she asked, “What would you have done?”

“Then I would’ve challenged the winner to another round,” Yu Tingbai said, glancing at her wrist, her tone indifferent. “None of you could’ve beaten me.”

Her stamina and explosive strength were exceptional even among the trainees. Beating anyone who had already gone through multiple rounds would’ve been effortless.

An Qing almost wanted to applaud her. If Yu Tingbai had made that demand, no one would’ve refused. And once she won, she could’ve exploited the rules to claim herself as the prize.

If not for Shen Siqi, that unreliable teammate who never followed the script, Yu Tingbai would’ve walked away scot-free by now.

“Though, I didn’t expect you to try so hard,” Yu Tingbai mused, as if recalling something, a mischievous laugh escaping her. “I just wanted you to wear down the others a bit.”

“Yu Tingbai, I’m coming?”

Yu Tingbai blinked, mimicking An Qing’s earlier tone. The teasing lilt at the end of her sentence drifted lazily into An Qing’s ears, instantly setting her whole body aflame again.

“Save your energy we’re not in bed.”

An Qing: !!!

Who did she do all this for?! This pretty sister is downright evil!

Clatter.

After An Qing dropped her chopsticks onto the stainless steel tray for the third time, Shen Siqi finally couldn’t take it anymore.

She theatrically wiped the corner of her eye with her finger. “Love is truly so powerful. An Qing used to complain about how heavy a bottle of mineral water was.”

At that moment, An Qing, Yu Tingbai, and Shen Siqi were having dinner together in the cafeteria. With most of the remaining trainees gone, the cafeteria was sparsely populated and eerily quiet. Only one window was open, serving the same set meal with no alternatives.

An Qing, probably from overexerting herself earlier, couldn’t stop her hands from trembling uncontrollably, as if she had Parkinson’s.

She picked up her chopsticks again and struggled to explain, “Actually, it’s not that bad.”

To help the trainees maintain their figures, most of the food in the cafeteria was healthy, low-calorie fare practically a death sentence for her.

An Qing was exhausted both physically and mentally. Only fried chicken, grilled fish, curry rice, hotpot, spicy blood stew, or takoyaki could offer her even a sliver of comfort.

Yu Tingbai elegantly dabbed her lips and said coolly, “Not that bad what?”

Even in the noisy cafeteria, Yu Tingbai somehow exuded an air of nobility just by sitting there.

Of course, there was no love involved!

But she didn’t dare say that.

An Qing: “I didn’t complain about the mineral water being heavy QAQ.”

Great. Yu Tingbai was acting all nonchalant, but she clearly still minded being kissed. Of course if she really didn’t care, why would she go to such lengths to avoid it?

But it wasn’t like An Qing had done it on purpose. It was all Shen Siqi’s fault.

An Qing angrily stuffed a forkful of salad into her mouth.

Ugh, this was no different from eating grass.

Shen Siqi, ravenous and unfussy, had already devoured her food at lightning speed. Propping her chin on her hand, she cheerfully suggested, “Tingbai, why don’t you feed her?”

An Qing nearly had a heart attack from the shock. She quickly put down her chopsticks.

“I’m full.”

She wasn’t, really, but the sight of an entire plate of greens had killed her appetite.

Maybe she could grab a snack at the convenience store later. The oden from last time wasn’t bad it had her favorite daikon and fish roe pouches.

Just as An Qing was pondering this, Yu Tingbai spoke up. “You two head back first. I’m going to the convenience store.”

“I’ll go too,” An Qing said, then grabbed Shen Siqi, who was about to leave. “Siqi, come with us.”

Today, she didn’t dare be alone with Yu Tingbai and planned to lay low for a while.

But Shen Siqi mercilessly rejected her. “No way. I can’t walk anymore. I’m going back to lie down.”

Just as An Qing was about to try harder, Shen Siqi patted her shoulder.

“You say you want me to come, but what you really want is some alone time with her, isn’t it?”

The convenience store wasn’t large, with only five or six shelves in total.

After most of the trainees had been eliminated, the staff had been cut back significantly, and restocking was slow. The shelves were sparsely stocked, with some rows completely empty.

Yu Tingbai walked straight to the innermost shelf with practiced ease, glanced around, then crouched down and picked up a bag of the most ordinary fruit hard candies from the corner.

An Qing stood nearby, hugging a bag of potato chips, feeling a little surprised.

Who would’ve thought that Yu Tingbai, who seemed so ethereal and above worldly desires, would enjoy such a down-to-earth snack?

Were the candies in this world especially delicious?

An Qing swallowed hard and resisted the urge to crouch down herself, reaching instead for another bag of the same candy.

Yu Tingbai raised an eyebrow, as if about to comment.

Just then, a faint noise came from the entrance, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.

A crisp female voice drifted around the shelves and into both their ears.

“What kind of person is Yu Tingbai anyway? So what if she was the center from the beginning? So what if she’s leagues ahead of everyone else?”

The speaker seemed to harbor strong resentment toward Yu Tingbai, laced with a tone of schadenfreude.

“The little she’s earned since debut wouldn’t even be enough to pay off her family’s debts.”