The Cold Sister Is Too Flirtatious - Chapter 27

Lin Tingxue’s honest “Annoyed” stood out starkly against the uniform chorus of “Excited.”

The audience froze for three seconds before erupting into even louder laughter. They couldn’t help but find it hilarious—they could practically feel Lin Tingxue’s aversion to the recording, yet fate had chosen her as captain.

Leng Yao couldn’t help but smile. She imagined Lin Tingxue had experienced what it felt like to be stuffed inside a roasted chicken and now just wanted to leave and focus on her training. It was certainly in character for her older sister.

After finally calming down, the captains began selecting songs. There were ten songs in total: two for five-member teams, four for eight-member teams, one for a twelve-member team, and three for fifteen-member teams.

Eight were fast-paced tracks, while two were ballads. Everyone knew that fast songs tended to shine more on stage, so no one wanted to end up with a ballad.

This time, the song selection order was determined by class rankings. Leng Yao didn’t hesitate to choose “Chromatic Black,” her top pick.

The song was notoriously difficult, requiring extreme flexibility and demanding choreography. Singing and dancing simultaneously made it easy to lose breath control.

Zeng Zhile’s eyes lit up. Exactly what I wanted! she thought. Looks like I’ll be on Xiao Yao’s team again. The other trainees shook their heads, finding the song too difficult and opting for safer choices in other teams.

When it was Lin Tingxue’s turn, she walked straight to the selection area, reached out, and tore off the sheet music for “Boundless Horizon.”

The demonstration video for “Boundless Horizon” showed only simple choreography. Lin Tingxue was quite pleased; this meant more time for practice. She could even sneak off-camera to find Little Rabbit during breaks.

The last captain breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Lin Tingxue just wants to go home early and actually chose this song! he thought. This song is a death sentence for anyone who touches it. Across multiple audition shows, teams that selected “Boundless Horizon” invariably finished last, making it a notorious curse.

It wasn’t that “Boundless Horizon” was a bad song; on the contrary, it was too good. The high expectations made it nearly impossible to meet, leading to the current situation.

The remaining songs were all decent, and everyone secured their preferred choices before team selection began.

The host announced, “Trainees who wish to join Leng Yao’s team, please stand up.”

Zeng Zhile sprang to her feet, anxious to be the first. She glanced around, only to find that she and one other girl were the only ones standing.

Leng Yao smiled and waved them over. Zeng Zhile happily ran toward her. The other girl, Wu Chuxia, smiled shyly, clearly delighted to have made it into Leng Yao’s team so easily.

No one was surprised by Leng Yao’s situation. Although she was among the top three in terms of skill, this also meant that her team members might get very little screen time or have their performances overshadowed. The other trainees were hesitant to challenge her.

Leng Yao pleaded, “Please trust me! I’ll assign you the parts that best suit your strengths. And in my team, I’ll definitely find opportunities to cook for everyone!”

Little Rabbit cooking?

Lin Tingxue unconsciously took a step forward, then remembered she was on camera and, as the team leader, couldn’t join Leng Yao’s group. She retreated, feeling dejected.

I want to eat the dishes Little Rabbit makes.

Leng Yao noticed, her eyes crinkling into a smile. I’ll make a special meal for Lin Tingxue later.

Sensing Leng Yao’s sincerity—especially her promise of fairness on camera—some trainees changed their minds. At least in this team, they had a chance to win, and the whole team would be safe.

One by one, they stood up, and Leng Yao’s team quickly filled.

“Alright, now who wants to join Lin Tingxue’s team?”

The trainees exchanged nervous glances.

A curse! This is terrifying. Lin Tingxue just wants to clock out, but we don’t want to be eliminated in the first round!

Just as the host was about to assume no one would volunteer, Lin Tingxue pointed at Bai Chacha and asked, “Can she be on my team?”

Before I leave, I’ll take away everyone the Little Rabbit dislikes.

Bai Chacha’s eyes widened. The country bumpkin actually chose me? There must be a scheme! “I refuse.”

The host smoothed things over. “Unfortunately, there’s no mutual selection. It seems Bai Chacha prefers another song. Lin Tingxue’s team will remain incomplete for now. Let’s move on to selecting members for Team C.”

The remaining songs were of moderate difficulty, and the three teams quickly filled up. Bai Chacha stood up three times, but everyone could see she was just coasting and refused to accept her.

In the end, Bai Chacha and the remaining unchosen members stood behind Lin Tingxue.

Who wants to be on a team with a country bumpkin?!

Training was intense. Leng Yao sat in a corner, taking a brief rest. Not only were there team performance songs, but the captains also competed individually, with their scores contributing to their overall rankings. The top five captains would gain 20 individual points, while the bottom five would lose 20—making the captain’s role far from easy.

After all, 20 points could practically eliminate someone.

Leng Yao buried her face in her knees. The training was fascinating, but the time she got to spend with her older sister was painfully short.

Her sister had kept her word: the two of them were almost never seen together on camera. Whenever Leng Yao tried to approach, her sister would move to another part of the room.

Leng Yao lifted her head, rubbed her face, and gave herself a pep talk.

It’s okay, Leng Yao. There’s still tonight. At least when the cameras are off, you can cuddle with your sister!

After a five-minute break, Leng Yao got back to training. Their team quickly divided the parts. Zeng Zhile had the strongest vocals, so she sang the climax. Of the remaining girls, one wrote a rap based on her skills, while the other retained her specialty in dance.

Leng Yao made every effort to highlight each teammate’s strengths, reserving relatively plain vocal parts for herself.

Yet even with these simpler sections, she was determined to excel. While her teammates went out to eat, she remained in the practice room, rehearsing alone. The girl in the mirror repeated the movements tirelessly, refining each step with unwavering focus, treating every practice session as if it were the real stage.

Before she knew it, she had been practicing for an hour and a half. Leng Yao sat down, reaching for her thermos.

Realizing it was empty, she planned to refill it. But when she picked it up, she was surprised by its weight.

Beside the thermos lay a Star Kirby cookie. Only one person here knew about her love for Star Kirby. Leng Yao’s heart warmed as she took a large gulp of water, the cool liquid soothing her dry throat.

When did Older Sister come by?

Zeng Zhile returned to the practice room after dinner to find Leng Yao grinning foolishly at a cookie. She snatched it away, stuffed it into her mouth, and declared smugly, “Pretty good.”

Leng Yao snapped out of her daze and lunged at her. Zeng Zhile dodged, clutching her head and taunting, “Ha ha ha, Xiao Yao, your short legs can’t catch me!”

“Huh?!”

Zeng Zhile suddenly froze in place, unable to move. Leng Yao pinned her neck with an arm. “Yue, you still can’t outrun me.”

“That’s not it,” Zeng Zhile started to say, about to explain she couldn’t move, but the next moment she found herself free again, breaking away from Leng Yao. “Strange,” she muttered to herself.

The remaining teammates gradually returned from dinner, and the group resumed practicing, focusing on weighted training. They had all witnessed Leng Yao’s dedication and fairness, earning their complete trust. No one questioned the number of repetitions she assigned.

Before they knew it, several hours of training had passed.

“Great work, everyone! Time to rest.”

“Goodbye, Captain Yaoyao!”

Zeng Zhile suggested they walk back together, but Leng Yao declined. Though it was late, she still wanted to check if her older sister was in the training room.

She went to Team B’s training room, only to find it empty. Her sister had already left.

She’s gone too, Leng Yao thought, closing the door with a hint of disappointment. In her hand, she carried Lin Tingxue’s favorite Berry Berry Double Love.

Back in the dormitory, even with Yue and Xia Zhuo there, she still longed for some alone time with her older sister.

Leng Yao walked with her head down, passing through the winding corridor. Suddenly, someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her around a corner.

Lin Tingxue’s cool voice echoed in her ear: “The cameras can’t see us here.”

Leng Yao’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as she slowly lifted her gaze. She threw herself into Lin Tingxue’s arms, wrapping her hands around the other woman’s slender neck.

“Mm, so, Older Sister, we can do something intimate.”

What exactly counted as intimate? Leng Yao’s first instinct was to look at Lin Tingxue’s lips—pink, soft, and glowing with health.

Focused solely on those lips, she didn’t notice the faint anticipation in Lin Tingxue’s eyes.

Leng Yao tightened her grip slightly, and Lin Tingxue’s neck lowered with swan-like grace. Leng Yao stood on tiptoe, pressing their warm foreheads together. She nuzzled briefly, feeling the shared warmth, then released her hold and pressed the Berry Berry Double Love into Lin Tingxue’s hand. “Older Sister, I’ll see you later! At the dorm!”

Turning away, Lin Tingxue pressed a hand to her racing heart. Thank goodness, she thought, reason prevailed over desire. I almost took advantage of my older sister.

Watching Leng Yao’s retreating figure, Lin Tingxue reached up to touch her forehead, then let her fingers drift down to her lips. Wasn’t Little Rabbit just staring at me?

That enigmatic Little Rabbit.

The two girls entered the dorm one after the other. Xia Zhuo and Zeng Zhile, already showered, greeted them before returning to review their practice session.

After washing up, Leng Yao sat beside Zeng Zhile. “Yue, I felt like my vocal placement was off when I sang today, but our vocal coach is on leave. What should I do?”

“Sing a bit for me,” Zeng Zhile replied. “I’ll listen.”

Leng Yao sang a snippet from “Colorful Black”: “I’m sorry, I can’t be the flamboyant butterfly you imagined.”

Zeng Zhile immediately identified the problem. She placed her hand on Leng Yao’s lower abdomen. “You can’t just sing from your throat. You need to engage your diaphragm and chest cavity. Try again.”

With Zeng Zhile’s guidance, Leng Yao quickly grasped the technique. By the third attempt, her singing improved significantly. Seeing Lin Tingxue emerge from the bathroom, Leng Yao immediately rushed to Lin Tingxue’s bed and stared at her expectantly.

Zeng Zhile watched, inwardly scolding with amusement, Forget Yue the moment Xue appears.

Lin Tingxue turned off the light, crawled into bed, and started playing on her phone.

Leng Yao rolled herself up in the blanket like a spring roll, leaving only her head exposed. “Older Sister, how was your team’s practice today?”

“We didn’t practice.”

“Ah!” Leng Yao knew Lin Tingxue wouldn’t practice for too long, but this answer still surprised her. “Did something happen?”

Lin Tingxue shrugged casually. “Bai Chacha wanted a certain vocal part, and the other teammates wanted it too. So they found a corner out of camera range and started fighting over it.”

Leng Yao had a good idea which part they were fighting over. Though “Boundless Horizon” was difficult to sing, its climax carried a soul-stirring power. No matter how well the singer performed, the lyrics and the story behind them guaranteed they wouldn’t be eliminated. The initial resentment and disappointment merely depicted the ordinary struggles of life; by persevering, one would eventually reach the dawn. The two elements complemented each other, neither complete without the other.

That vocal part had moved countless listeners. Securing it meant certain advancement. This was why “Boundless Horizon” remained a cursed yet coveted stage piece across various reality shows.

“So, Older Sister, what did you do?”

“To recap: practice, wait for them to finish arguing, and whoever wins gets to choose first.”

Leng Yao knew Lin Tingxue wanted to withdraw, so she didn’t urge her to compete for the climax part. Instead, she said earnestly, “Older Sister, I hope this song is performed well, no matter who sings it, because it has the power to inspire millions.”

Having finished her explanation, Leng Yao suddenly rolled over to Lin Tingxue’s side, spreading the blanket like a giant pancake. She beckoned with a smile. “Older Sister, the next round of audience voting is in just half a month. Even if you withdraw from the stage, you can still accompany me as my manager, but we won’t get to spend nearly enough time together. Older Sister, let’s sleep in the same bed tonight.”

“Besides,” Leng Yao leaned closer and whispered into Lin Tingxue’s ear, “Older Sister, Yue He and Xia Zhuo are already asleep.”

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