The Real Heiress Just Wants to Be a Lazy Fish - Chapter 70

Chapter 70: Proactive

Jiang Zitan soon headed to the Special Affairs Bureau. Qian Ran originally wanted to peek at what Tao Yitong looked like now to laugh at her later; after all, opportunities to see Tao Yitong in a sorry state were rare. However, when she actually saw her, she realized that laughing at “someone” wasn’t going to be that easy.

Qian Ran clutched her hand, which had almost been waved “goodbye” to. Overwhelmed by shock, she instinctively reached for her pocket, intending to take a photo of this scene with her phone. But as soon as she opened the camera, she found the screen was blurry and she couldn’t see a thing. Qian Ran looked up and saw Jiang Zitan covering the phone lens with her hand, signaling with her eyes not to take a photo.

Fine, just keep pampering her!

No matter how much she grumbled internally, Jiang Zitan was the “golden thigh” benefactor; what she said went. Qian Ran put away her phone awkwardly but politely. However, she didn’t forget to nudge Jiang Zitan: “Miss Jiang, don’t you want to keep a souvenir?”

Half an hour later, sitting in Jiang Zitan’s car, Tao Yitong received a long string of messages from Jiang Yang. After the constant “beep beep beep” of the phone drew the attention of the person beside her, Tao Yitong moved quickly to block Jiang Yang and turn off the screen in one smooth motion, not paying any attention to what the other party was actually saying.

This time, Tao Yitong thanked her very sincerely: “Thank you, Sister.”

When the tension was high between Jiang Zitan and Jiang Yang earlier, she had received a steady stream of incremental favorability points from both sides. Jiang Yang gave seven or eight points, and even the most difficult Jiang Zitan gave three points—a very large success compared to before.

Although the hotpot had been ordered, Jiang Zitan had lost her appetite and took Tao Yitong away immediately. Before leaving, Tao Yitong quietly looked back and shot a quick glance at Jiang Yang; her expression was as aggrieved as it could be. She could guarantee that her look at the time was lethal to anyone, which was why Jiang Yang had hurriedly sent so many messages.

However, Tao Yitong didn’t have a shred of interest in that Jiang Yang; she was currently just making him do a bit of useless work on purpose.

“By the way, Sister, where are we going next?”

The two of them hadn’t eaten much because of Jiang Yang. Mainly, during a gap when Tao Yitong went to the bathroom, that man had stuck to them like chewing gum, seemingly trying to shamelessly strike up a conversation with Jiang Zitan. Unfortunately for him, unlike in the original plot, he was given the cold shoulder.

Jiang Zitan not only had zero interest in him but probably now regarded him as the kind of greasy male who specialized in hitting on girls, finding him utterly disgusting.

“What do you want to eat?” Jiang Zitan happened to be waiting at a red light and looked at the girl sitting obediently beside her. The night lights cast a faint shadow on her beautiful face. Compared to before, the current Tao Yitong didn’t seem so annoying; instead, she elicited a bit of pity.

“Can we have barbecue!” Tao Yitong answered immediately.

“Alright.”

Tao Yitong’s figure was quite thin by ordinary standards. Even by celebrity standards, she didn’t look that great on camera, so she needed to gain an appropriate amount of weight. But gaining weight and gaining fat are two different things. She estimated that once she joined the company, she wouldn’t be allowed to eat high-calorie foods like barbecue, hotpot, or cake, so Tao Yitong decided to open her stomach today and enjoy her last bit of happiness.

Jiang Zitan actually had no interest in such food, but she didn’t refuse after hearing the request. Tao Yitong immediately beamed, calling her “Sister” sweetly.

The sizzling, oily skewers were covered in seasonings like black pepper and chili powder. Tao Yitong was full of praise from the first bite. However, Jiang Zitan, who usually disliked such things, only ate some roasted buns and cold dishes. Finally, under Tao Yitong’s encouragement, she tried a piece of grilled chicken breast that wasn’t gamey.

Seeing her two slender eyebrows furrow slightly, the Tao Yitong sitting beside her acted like a loyal little follower, unscrewing the cap of a honey yuzu tea and handing it over, looking very much like Jiang Zitan’s assistant. Jiang Zitan gave her a strange look, which was immediately met with a large smile from the girl.

“Full?” “Full!” “Then let’s go home. You have to go to the company tomorrow.”

Tao Yitong had actually wanted to ask what Jiang Zitan’s position in the company was. After all, the original host would have known about high-ranking superiors before entering MT, but she had never heard her name. Taking this chance, she asked, only to receive a negative answer from Jiang Zitan.

“This girl group is a joint project between our two companies, so I have some consulting power. However, I’m not primarily responsible for the girl group; at most, I have a bit of a say sometimes.”

“Then I actually want to ask Sister another question.” Tao Yitong was becoming more familiar with acting coquettishly toward the woman, handling the boundaries well. She looked up at Jiang Zitan with eyes full of admiration. “Did I get in based on my own strength, or because of Sister’s influence?”

Jiang Zitan was slightly stunned. Actually, when Du Yaqing came in earlier, she had praised Tao Yitong’s strength. Tao Yitong came from a dance background, so her foundation went without saying. Her rendition of “Faith” with accompaniment had been excellent, handling both high notes and gentle lyrical parts with full emotional impact, making an old song sound contemporary.

The girl looked delicate and soft, but she was actually a very powerful dancer with great force. She could handle both rock styles and sweet idol concepts, showing a strong contrast between her on-stage and off-stage persona. Although Jiang Zitan hadn’t seen the live performance or heard the song personally, even a layman could see the quality from her dance power.

Du Yaqing had a sharp eye for talent and rarely gave high praise; Tao Yitong getting in definitely wasn’t entirely due to her influence.

Jiang Zitan wasn’t the type of person who liked to take all the credit to manipulate others. After Tao Yitong asked, she answered readily: “It was yourself.”

Tao Yitong felt much more at ease and gave her a “peace” sign.

Jiang Yang had initially been perfunctory for a few sentences, but after comparing her to Tao Yitong, he found Jiang Zitan’s temper even more repulsive, and his interest had long since vanished. Seeing that Tao Yitong didn’t reply, he nudged her again, then finally got to the point he actually wanted to ask—what exactly was the “sister” relationship between her and Jiang Zitan.

In the original book, when the true daughter returned, the parents didn’t immediately announce the true identities of the two to protect the original host’s self-esteem and the family’s reputation. They only said Jiang Zitan was the adopted daughter and Tao Yitong was biological; after all, fabricating a story about “twins separated at birth” wouldn’t stop the gossiping public and might lead to questions about the parents having illegitimate children.

The two decided to announce Jiang Zitan’s true status before she settled on a marriage. Jiang Zitan herself had no objection, and both sides reached an agreement, at least on the surface.

Tao Yitong certainly wouldn’t dig a hole for herself; she would say exactly what the parents were currently saying to the public. However, once she established herself, she wouldn’t keep clinging to a title that didn’t belong to her; what should be returned to Jiang Zitan would eventually be returned.

Jiang Yang replied quickly over there, but Tao Yitong didn’t feel like entangling with him further and dismissed him after a few perfunctory words.

Today was the day the trainees gathered. MT’s way of forming groups was always varied sometimes through survival shows, sometimes through internal selection. The debut timeline this time was tight—only a few months so almost everyone had a dance background.

The method this time was to have all trainees train together for internal selection. Although the competition wasn’t public, it was exceptionally cruel. Someone you were laughing with today might be sent home tomorrow, or a rival you were arguing with might become a teammate at debut.

It wasn’t until she arrived at the venue that Tao Yitong realized only a tiny fraction of the many applicants yesterday had been accepted; the rest hadn’t even crossed the threshold to become trainees. But little did they know this was only a small beginning. Except for Public Trainees who were guaranteed a debut spot, the others were at risk of being cut at any time perhaps for a mistake in a move, bad facial management, or simply because someone at the top didn’t like them.

As a Public Trainee who had clearly been looked after yesterday, Tao Yitong was met with gazes from all directions the moment she entered the practice room. It was hard to say those gazes held genuine goodwill; most felt aggrieved because of her special status. Ordinary people aren’t used to such “treatment.” Tao Yitong felt like she was sitting on needles as soon as she arrived; the other trainees felt like they were in a different world from her.

Counting roughly, there were nearly forty people including her. She estimated the number would decrease with each weekly task. The final five-person lineup had already been revealed in the plot; Tao Yitong could check it just by clicking the app. Debuting was much more brutal than imagined.

In the rounds of screening, many who initially thought they could reach the top would grow weary and be pulled down by those with more strength. The company wouldn’t keep anyone just for “hard work”; they only cared about results.

Looking at those young, vibrant faces full of confidence, Tao Yitong sighed silently after avoiding their gazes. She checked the app and began searching through the crowd.

“Good morning, trainees. I am Fang Qiuqi, your senior sister. I hope you will practice and study hard. The road ahead is long, and I look forward to working with you all!”

The cheers of fans echoed, calling Fang Qiuqi’s name over and over. Tao Yitong had some impression of this person. Fang Qiuqi, the only actress to win two Best Actress awards at age 20. Her recent role as the fox demon Daji in “Creation of the Gods” had gone viral.

Aside from veteran actors, she was at the top of MT’s film and television division and a senior to the trainees. In the original plot, she was also one of Jiang Zitan’s friends, but there was no more data. The seductive fox demon on screen formed a sharp contrast with the girl’s current unique temperament, making many trainees secretly excited.

“I am the mentor Mu Ning. You will be spending the next period of time with me,” said another tall woman with short hair who looked quite stern. “You can go check the dorms in a bit. Your Senior Sister Qiuqi might also participate in choreography production later, so look forward to that.”

The practice room erupted in cheers again, and the previously tense atmosphere became more harmonious. Tao Yitong, blending into the crowd, finally felt a bit better and let out a sigh of relief.

After the brief introductions, assistants led all trainees to the dorms. MT’s financial strength was among the best in the industry, so even the temporary dorms for trainees were clean and neat. A dorm was a standard four-person room with independent bathrooms and hot water, cleaned until they were brand new.

Although the recruitment was global and included many international friends, Tao Yitong was lucky to be assigned Chinese roommates: Jiang Sicui, Yao Xichen, and Zhou Yue. The latter two would be her future teammates, but one of them…

After looking over the dorm, Yao Xichen smilingly hooked her arm around Tao Yitong’s shoulder. The faint, complex meaning in her smile was easy to catch, causing a bit of awkwardness. Just as Tao Yitong was about to break free, the girl looked down at the name on her chest badge and said: “Tongtong, you won’t be moving out to live elsewhere later, will you?”

The other two looked over simultaneously. The scene of Tao Yitong being suddenly called away while everyone was waiting for the interview yesterday was quite conspicuous, so any trainee present had noticed, and it had likely become even more exaggerated through word of mouth.

After entering today, Tao Yitong had overheard people talking about her being “royalty” in the group. They only quieted down after she entered, but she wasn’t deaf; she could hear the whispers. Yao Xichen’s sudden question brought the roommates’ memories to the surface, making the atmosphere awkward again.

Tao Yitong calmly brushed her hand off her shoulder and replied with a smile: “How could I! Actually, I came once during the last recruitment, but since it was already full, I went to continue my exams. After finishing them and coming back, I happened to join this wave of Public Trainees. Of course we’re together.” She emphasized “we” and kicked her suitcase further into the room: “You’re not allowed to kick me out, I want to be with you guys!”

Yao Xichen smiled and didn’t speak further, but her gaze toward her was a bit ambiguous. Tao Yitong wanted to say more but shut up after feeling a special prompt from the app. While the assistant called for assembly, Tao Yitong hung back in the line to read the new tasks.

• Current Main Story Progress: 7.5%

• New Main Task (1 – Important): Please ensure your teammates’ favorability reaches the target level before debut, otherwise there will be an 80% probability of a blunder during the debut performance. Methods to increase favorability are unlimited, including but not limited to friendship and romance.

Tao Yitong was shocked: “I can even date my teammates?”

• According to the experience of others in different world lines, someone once dated five people at the same time to quickly increase favorability, reaching 100% within the set time.

“And then?”

• Then that task operator was discovered to be two-timing five people and was chopped into five pieces and taken away.

Tao Yitong: “…Next.”

• New Main Task (2 – Unexpected Situation, Extremely Important): Yesterday after going home, you ate and played games in the living room, leaving it a mess. It happens that your parents are on a business trip today and the maid is off. After Jiang Zitan goes back today, she remembers she left an important item in the living room. While searching for it, she happens to see something she shouldn’t.

• Item that shouldn’t appear (owner is the original host): “Handbook for Capturing Your Boyfriend Strategy” (contains age-restricted GL manga). Please prevent Jiang Zitan from seeing this item without taking a mysterious leave of absence to go home.

“Tongtong, I want to do an experiment, is that okay?” Jiang Zitan asked softly.

Tao Yitong tilted her head cutely; she would never refuse Jiang Zitan. She could do whatever she wanted~

Her complete trust—to the point where she almost bared her belly—made Jiang Zitan’s heart feel soft. She looked at Tao Yitong’s red lips, and the temperature of her face rose slightly. Jiang Zitan’s hand, which was stroking her cheek, moved to hook her fair chin, then she leaned in slightly for a brief, shallow kiss on Tao Yitong’s crimson lips.

As expected, the transmission of power seemed more significant and obvious in this situation. Ms. Liu was right if this continued, Tongtong’s recovery speed would increase.

Jiang Zitan, who was focused on serious matters, didn’t notice that after her light, fleeting kiss, the crimson eyes of her sister seemed to turn even redder. The desire in those eyes was almost naked. But she waited and waited, yet her sister didn’t do anything more.

Jiang Zitan rarely took the initiative; a rare moment of proactivity made someone even more excited. Tao Yitong’s tail was already wagging, but since her sister only gave a tiny kiss, Tao Yitong wasn’t satisfied at all, so she could only take the initiative to claim more.

Jiang Zitan stumbled back two steps and leaned against the wall. Her sister’s kiss this time seemed exceptionally excited, so passionate that she was almost unable to handle it.

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