The Scumbag A Really Doesn't Want to Become Famous [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 67.2

“I’m so sorry, Teacher Jiang! So sorry!” Yu Youqing panicked, unsure what to do. She tried to wipe the flour off Jiang Musheng’s face, forgetting her own hands were covered in it, only making the situation worse. Jiang Musheng’s face was now completely dusted, her lashes coated white, her eyes barely able to open.]

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Jiang Musheng closed her eyes but accurately caught Yu Youqing’s hand that was still messing around on her face, speaking with extreme patience, “I’m okay.”

On the other side, Liang Yitang wasn’t faring much better. At least Yu Youqing had managed to scoop up a spoonful of flour to pass over, while Liang Yitang couldn’t even scoop any up. When she lowered her head, her breathing was too heavy, causing the flour to get inhaled into her nose.

So while Liang Yitang and Jiang Musheng were both cleaning themselves up, Yu Youqing also lent a hand, passing Liang Yitang a damp towel to wipe her face.

Liang Yitang thought it was a staff member and said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” To her surprise, it was Yu Youqing’s voice that responded, startling her so much that she immediately tried to open her eyes. But the flour wasn’t completely wiped off yet, irritating her eyes again and leaving her in a sorry state.

Seeing how flustered Liang Yitang was, Yu Youqing directly pressed a wet wipe against her eyes and kindly said, “No need to be so polite. I just helped you out casually. Don’t open your eyes yet.”

She then turned to check on Jiang Musheng, also handing her a wet wipe: “Teacher Jiang, are you feeling okay?”

Jiang Musheng laughed. “You’re quite busy, aren’t you?”

“Busy or not, taking care of my teammates is my priority,” Yu Youqing said, still holding the wet wipe as she gently wiped the flour from the corners of Jiang Musheng’s eyes. “Otherwise, you can go first next time.”

Jiang Musheng looked at Yu Youqing, who was bending over in front of her. “It’s fine. You go ahead.”

The next few rounds went about the same as the first one.

By the end, the bucket meant to catch the flour still had only a tiny amount. But all four participants were in a pitiful state. After all, they were all A-list female celebrities, yet they had completely disregarded their appearances so much so that it was hard to tell who was who.

The staff weighed the flour meticulously with a kitchen scale in front of everyone and announced that Yu Youqing’s team had won by a slight margin of 2 milliliters.

Yu Youqing and Jiang Musheng high-fived.

“We won,” Yu Youqing said, looking at the chaotic mess of traces and flour on both Jiang Musheng and herself, finding it both amusing and exasperating. “But we look like we’ve just been through a battle.”

“Pretty much,” Jiang Musheng replied, casually taking the towel from a staff member who had come to help Yu Youqing and began wiping the remaining flour off Yu Youqing’s face. Yu Youqing naturally wanted to do it herself, but Jiang Musheng said softly, “Don’t move around. I might accidentally get it in your eyes.”

“I will move,” Yu Youqing teased, reaching out to play with a few strands of Jiang Musheng’s hair that had fallen as she bent over, lightly tugging at them. Jiang Musheng didn’t seem annoyed at all.

Encouraged, Yu Youqing started testing Jiang Musheng’s limits.

She began touching whatever she could reach tugging at Jiang Musheng’s clothes, pinching her shoulder. But Jiang Musheng remained unflappable, showing no unusual expression on her face as she focused on wiping Yu Youqing’s face.

“…”

Finally, Yu Youqing reached out and poked Jiang Musheng’s cheek with her fingertip, staring at her and asking, “Do you really never get angry?”

“Didn’t I tell you yesterday?” Jiang Musheng chuckled, having just finished wiping Yu Youqing’s face dry. She handed the towel to a staff member, saying, “Tolerance depends entirely on the person.”

Ahem

[User A says: Don’t move. User O says: I will move.]

[I’ve already secretly imagined an R-rated novel in my head, sorry not sorry drooling]

[Sisters, if you’re gonna imagine it then write it out! Don’t keep the fun to yourself ahhhhhhh!]

[Hahaha Little Fish, isn’t Teacher Jiang’s hint obvious enough? Aren’t you going for it yet?!]

[If you won’t, I will!]

[No, you can’t. Teacher Jiang’s tolerance for you is probably zero.]

[LOL, you’re so good at talking.]

On the other side, Liang Yitang and Shen Tingyao were also freshening up, but they weren’t helping each other their assistants were.

Though they weren’t too far from Yu Yousheng and Jiang Musheng, there seemed to be an invisible boundary between the two pairs.

Normally, if Yu Yousheng didn’t step forward to dissolve that line, no one else would cross it.

Liang Yitang noticed Shen Tingyao’s gaze drifting uncontrollably in that direction.

“You really do like Teacher Jiang, huh,” Liang Yitang said coolly. “Give it up. My company even tried to pair me with her before, but she only has eyes for Yu Yousheng. She doesn’t even glance at anyone else.”

Even after being caught, Shen Tingyao didn’t look away, only murmuring ambiguously, “Is that so?”

Liang Yitang: “Just drop it. Teacher Jiang clearly isn’t into alphas anyway. Why set your sights on an alpha when there are plenty of omegas? Are you even listening to me?”

She tugged at Shen Tingyao’s ear. “Stop scheming over Teacher Jiang, got it? Aren’t they already a perfect match?”

Shen Tingyao finally turned to her. “Are you their shipper?”

“Who is?! Why do you keep spouting nonsense?” As expected, Liang Yitang bristled at the mention and refused to continue the conversation.

After a short break, the staff announced, “Next up is the second game.”

The second round involved popping as many balloons as possible.

Carrying flour earlier had been fine, but balloons were Yu Yousheng’s weakness. She was afraid of the sound they made when they burst.

But she didn’t show it. Only when the staff explained the task did her expression falter slightly, and when she saw the props, her steps hesitated for half a second.

Yu Yousheng thought no one would notice.

During the game, Jiang Musheng took great care of her. She’d cover Yu Yousheng’s ears before a balloon popped and handled each burst swiftly, sparing her the tension of waiting for the explosion.

It was only afterward that Yu Yousheng realized, Jiang Musheng had noticed her fear of balloons.

Just as she’d recognized Jiang Musheng’s fear of the dark, Jiang Musheng had gently and thoughtfully accommodated her own fear.

Jiang Musheng performed exceptionally this round, so their team won again.

After two games, Yu Yousheng’s score was now ahead.

But Liang Yitang made a startling discovery.

She realized she’d been wrong from the start!

During the games, Shen Tingyao kept looking over. During breaks, she couldn’t help but glance that way too. Liang Yitang had assumed she was watching Jiang Musheng.

But she wasn’t.

Shen Tingyao only looked when Jiang Musheng was with Yu Yousheng. If they weren’t together, she didn’t spare them a glance.

It seemed like Jiang Musheng had just become… a decoy for Shen Tingyao to go see Yu Youqing?

Liang Yitang: “???”

After making this discovery, Liang Yitang had been secretly observing Shen Tingyao, and sure enough, her suspicions were confirmed.

During the balloon game, when Jiang Musheng covered Yu Youqing’s ears, Shen Tingyao also looked over.

Liang Yitang couldn’t help but say to her, “Give it up, you don’t stand a chance.”

Shen Tingyao: “……”

“I thought you genuinely liked alphas, but turns out you’re still after that omega.” Liang Yitang’s mood grew even more complicated. Looking at their team’s dismal loss, she wasn’t surprised. “But whatever it is, the alpha doesn’t like you, and the omega doesn’t either.”

Shen Tingyao: “Alright, you can stop now.”

A staff member announced, “The losing team must face a punishment. We’ve prepared a ‘Truth or Dare’ penalty for you. Please choose someone from the winning team and reveal a heartfelt truth to them.”

Yu Youqing said, “That sounds like an easy punishment.”

The staff member replied, “Easy yet not so easy, because it’s hard for people to confront their true feelings, especially on a show like this.”

[The production team really laid it all out there, hahaha! Aren’t they forcing Shen Tingyao and Tangtang to say something shocking?]

[Then I suggest changing this punishment to a ‘Dare Challenge’, wouldn’t that be more fitting?]

[What else could they even reveal? Shen Tingyao’s been so obvious about liking Teacher Jiang from the start. It’s not like she’d suddenly switch to Little Yu, right?]

[Hahaha, that’s just absurd. Where do you even come up with this stuff?]

When the staff handed the microphone to Liang Yitang, Yu Youqing was still curious about what she would say and who she would choose. Unexpectedly, their eyes met.

Liang Yitang: “Then I’ll say it to Yu Youqing.”

Yu Youqing: “?”

Since joining this show, Liang Yitang had found it quite exhausting. What seemed like simple games actually required a lot of physical effort. And despite the intense activity, she still noticed Yu Youqing taking care of others.

Not only could Yu Youqing cook, but she was also attentive in many small ways even noticing when Liang Yitang missed out on a small tangerine.

Suppressing her usual urge to contradict Yu Youqing, Liang Yitang said, “Well,  just, let me give everyone a little suggestion.” It was the first time Liang Yitang had to show a friendly side toward Yu Youqing on camera, and she felt awkward. Unable to look Yu Youqing in the eye, she addressed the camera instead. “My truth is actually, Yu Youqing is well, pretty decent. She’s very considerate and deserves more fans.”

“Alright, I’m done.” Liang Yitang quickly ended her speech.

[?]

[What did I just hear?! Is this a historic reconciliation?]

[Damn, I never expected these words to come out of Liang Yitang’s mouth!!!]

[Wait, isn’t Tangtang indirectly confirming that the rumors about Yu Youqing are false? She was an artist at the former agency, she must know more.]

[No way, no way!!]

[Ahhh, I knew it! Little Yu is worth loving after all!]

[“I’ve liked Xiaoyu from the very beginning, haha. Now I can openly tell everyone that investing in her is totally worth it!”]

[“Liang Yitang, you’ve really got something. When you said you wanted to speak your mind, you really went all out!”]

[“The production team’s KPIs for this episode are secured.”]

Yu Youqing was also shocked. She had no idea Liang Yitang would actually speak up for her. But when she looked at Liang Yitang, the latter somehow avoided her gaze. Instead, she briefly locked eyes with Shen Tingyao again, and Yu Youqing immediately felt uneasy.

What’s going on with these two today? They’re acting really strange.

She subtly hid behind Jiang Musheng and whispered, “Jiang-jie, why do these two make me feel like something’s off this whole episode?”

“Then stay behind me.” Jiang Musheng positioned herself between Yu Youqing and Shen Tingyao, making the younger woman feel safer. “Don’t worry.”

I’ll protect you.

But when Shen Tingyao spoke up, everyone was stunned once more.

“There’s something I want to say to Yu Youqing too.” Shen Tingyao’s gaze gently rested on Yu Youqing, a soft smile appearing on her lips as if she’d made up her mind. “I also want to speak my truth. Actually, when I first came here, my preferred partner wasn’t Teacher Jiang, it was Yu Youqing.”

The entire crew: “???”

Yet understanding flashed in Jiang Musheng’s eyes.

She’d known.

The moment Shen Tingyao’s gaze lingered on Yu Youqing, she’d already suspected this. Rivals are always perceptive of each other.

Yu Youqing’s face was full of question marks: Stop talking! If you keep going, how are we supposed to control this situation?!

Shen Tingyao chuckled and continued, “My initial claim of liking Teacher Jiang and being into AA relationships was just a clumsy tactic to get a certain omega’s attention. But I know my competition is formidable, I don’t stand a chance. That’s why I’m saying this now.”

Shen Tingyao’s eyes met Jiang Musheng’s.

[“Is the show going crazy, or am I?”]

[“First Liang Yitang, now Shen Tingyao, I want to scream for help”]

[“Same! I don’t even know which bombshell to process first, they’re all so shocking.”]

[“Good heavens, am I really getting this content for free in a livestream?”]

[“Brain overloaded, went to check Touchbo sure enough, top three trending topics are…”]

[“Did you see Xiaoyu’s expression? ‘What’s wrong with everyone today? Where am I? What should I do?'”]

[“Hahaha you only noticed Xiaoyu? Everyone’s expressions including the production team’s have turned into this /dogemoji”]

[“Who would’ve thought Liang Yitang and Shen Tingyao would go all out like this?”]

[“In contrast, Teacher Jiang is the calmest one. Did she already know Shen Tingyao’s initial claims were just for show? She didn’t seem surprised at all.”]

[“Nothing cuts deeper than direct confrontation between rivals.”]

Even the experienced crew found themselves in unprecedented territory. After two seconds of stunned silence, they finally cued the next segment, allowing everyone to move about freely.

Yu Youqing immediately tried to slip away to her room.

This was too awkward.

If others weren’t embarrassed, then she was the only one feeling awkward.

Yu Youqing didn’t even have time to greet Jiang Musheng before hurrying upstairs as soon as they entered the villa.

Tonight, Liang Yitang and Shen Tingyao would wrap up filming.

Although this was a two-episode continuous recording, it actually only lasted five days and four nights. By tonight, everyone would be sent to the hotel arranged by the production team to rest, as some still had other commitments to attend to tomorrow.

By 10 p.m., curled up in her hotel room, Yu Youqing still felt like the day had been surreal.

Especially the final truth-or-dare segment.

She hadn’t gone out for dinner, and now the production crew had already clocked out. Though Yu Youqing had her phone back, she didn’t dare check online reactions. Then, Jiang Musheng sent a message: [Taking you out for a bite tonight.]

She replied with an “Okay.” A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door but when she opened it, Shen Tingyao was standing there.

“……” Yu Youqing was only surprised to see her. After all this time, the awkwardness had faded, but she still didn’t know what to say.

Still, she couldn’t just leave her standing outside, so she stepped aside to let her in. Shen Tingyao entered, pulling her suitcase behind her.

“I’m leaving. Just wanted to say goodbye properly.” Off-camera, Shen Tingyao seemed much softer, her hair down and adding a gentle touch far from the domineering persona she was packaged as. “I know we’ll probably run into each other at events and promotions later, but I still wanted to make it a little ceremonious.”

Yu Youqing nodded. “Alright, then safe travels?”

“Did what I said this afternoon scare you? I blurted it out in the heat of the moment. I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable.” Shen Tingyao remained polite the entire time.

Yu Youqing shook her head. “Not exactly. It was just shocking in the moment. Thank you, and I’m sorry too.”

Shen Tingyao suddenly laughed. “How are you this polite even when rejecting someone?”

“I never got the chance to tell you before. Now that I finally do, Teacher Jiang’s momentum is just too strong, I know I can’t compete.” For a brief moment, Shen Tingyao’s gaze drifted, lost in thought before returning. “Teacher Jiang is wonderful. You two suit each other.”

Yu Youqing said, “Thank you. You’ll find an omega who likes you too.”

Shen Tingyao didn’t stay long. Once she’d said what she needed to, she left politely.

As she pulled her suitcase out and opened the door, she happened to see Jiang Musheng standing outside, hand raised mid-knock.

“Teacher Jiang, what a coincidence?” Shen Tingyao joked with a smile. “Had I known you were waiting, I would’ve stayed longer.”

Yu Youqing: “……”

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