There's Something Wrong With My Little White Flower - Chapter 58

Chapter 58: Obscure Idol X Top Girl Group Member

It was the morning of the third day when all the trainees had gathered. According to the program’s schedule, the preliminary stage performances would be recorded today, divided into three batches.

Ruan Jiyun’s group was scheduled to perform last. Due to frequent contestant errors and retakes in the preceding batches, a significant amount of time was lost. It was still not their turn even after nightfall.

The temperature difference between day and night on the island was huge. The waiting area was right next to the sea and grew cold at night. The girls had changed into their performance outfits and huddled together to keep warm. Ruan Jiyun had been pulled away by Mu Qing for practice that afternoon and missed dinner. When she returned to her seat, her face was pale.

Zhou Wanyue noticed she didn’t look well and quietly asked, “I ran into Mu Qing at the restaurant just now. She didn’t take you to eat?”

Since they were still in the preliminary selection phase and there were too many people at the resort, the cafeteria used a catering system. If contestants wanted separate meals, they had to pay extra for someone to help them. Ruan Jiyun certainly couldn’t afford such treatment. She shook her head and replied, “I’ll be on camera soon. I don’t dare eat anything.”

“Your company really favors some people over others…” Zhou Wanyue frowned. “You have to do your best later. I heard that once the official recording starts, we’ll have a nutritionist to provide uniform meals…”

As they spoke in hushed tones, a commotion could faintly be heard. Staff members were guiding the program’s guest mentors to the area.

Ruan Jiyun spotted Jiang Peifeng immediately. Compared to the casual look from their first meeting, Jiang Peifeng was clearly meticulously dressed today. She wore a silver oversized suit jacket over a silk camisole. Her posture was tall and graceful, and her demeanor exuded an effortless coolness.

As they walked past the waiting area, Ruan Jiyun felt, whether it was her imagination or not, that Jiang Peifeng’s gaze lingered on her face for a second.

She quietly looked up and saw Jiang Peifeng pause, say a few soft words to a staff member next to her, and then continue following her assistant down the corridor toward the filming area.

Before long, staff members brought over several insulated boxes. A female staff member announced: “Peifeng bought milk tea for everyone.”

The girls let out cries of “Wow!”

The milk tea was hot, carefully packaged in insulating paper. Ruan Jiyun also received a cup, feeling an immediate warmth to the touch.

“I’m going to be a fan of Jiang Peifeng forever,” Zhou Wanyue took a sip of the milk tea and praised, “She’s beautiful and so thoughtful.”

Ruan Jiyun took a sip of the milk tea. The hot drink warmed her stomach, and her heart relaxed. She couldn’t help but slightly squint her eyes in agreement: “Yes, she’s really great.”

Debuting at nineteen through a selection show and climbing all the way to the top girl group position in the country within four years—these dazzling honors all belonged to Jiang Peifeng. She was like a distant star, so brilliant that Ruan Jiyun could only look up to her.

With the help of the hot milk tea, they successfully waited for their turn to perform. It was nearly ten o’clock now, and everyone was starting to feel tired. Ruan Jiyun even saw Meng Yao, another popular singer on the mentor panel, directly ask her assistant: “How much longer until we finish?”

She steadied herself and walked onto the stage with Mu Qing.

After the routine self-introductions, none of the mentors had any extra questions. Seeing the atmosphere grow cold, the director signaled them to start their stage performance directly.

“Is the milk tea good?” Suddenly, Jiang Peifeng on the mentor panel spoke.

Her question was so random that everyone was stunned. Jiang Peifeng smiled and repeated: “Huh, is it not good?”

“It’s very delicious…” The two girls finally reacted, saying in unison.

Jiang Peifeng said: “Since you drank my milk tea, you better put some effort into your performance later.”

This time, everyone could tell she was joking. Meng Yao, the reigning pop queen at the next table, deliberately teased: “Well, why didn’t you buy us milk tea?”

“With your million-dollar insured voice, I wouldn’t dare let you drink anything casually,” Jiang Peifeng jested lightly with her.

Her unexpected interjection instantly relaxed the atmosphere. When the dance music intro began, Ruan Jiyun took a deep breath, her eyes focused forward, already in character.

This was her only chance.

The intense electronic dance music started. Ruan Jiyun and Mu Qing, one in front and one behind, began to dance with synchronized movements.

The choreography of this dance was undoubtedly more suited to Mu Qing. Her styling also deliberately leaned towards a “neutral” look. Her clean, cool makeup was perfectly highlighted by her neat, handsome short hair. Dressed in a white princess-sleeved shirt paired with black trousers, her movements were very eye-catching.

“Xiao Mu is quite handsome, actually…” Meng Yao quietly exchanged opinions with her. “The girl partnered with her looks small but has a lot of explosive power in her dancing. The interaction is good.”

Jiang Peifeng didn’t say anything.

Ruan Jiyun on the stage looked both familiar and somehow strange.

Her styling must have been intentionally toned down to complement Mu Qing. She wore a black tight camisole paired with wide-leg pants, which subtly accentuated her alluring curves. Her long hair was tied in a high ponytail, the strands flying and falling with her movements, particularly captivating.

But… when she saw Mu Qing loop her arm around Ruan Jiyun’s waist again, Jiang Peifeng slightly frowned.

To showcase Mu Qing’s sense of dominance, the dance contained numerous interactive moves, mostly involving Mu Qing hooking Ruan Jiyun’s waist, pressing down on her shoulder. The ending pose reached its climax: the two stood one in front of the other, and Mu Qing grabbed Ruan Jiyun’s high ponytail, making a gesture of pulling it outward.

Ruan Jiyun tilted her head to the right in response, exposing the elegant line of her neck, while Mu Qing raised an eyebrow and smiled at the camera, then half-embraced Ruan Jiyun, acting as if to bite her neck.

The pose was so suggestive that it instantly drew a wave of screams. Exclamations of “Too seductive!” were endless.

Jiang Peifeng looked deeply at the people on the stage and told herself to calm down.

She knew, of course, that this was for the effect of the program, but seeing Mu Qing with one arm around Ruan Jiyun’s waist, the two so close, an indescribable… sourness welled up in her heart.

She desperately wanted to separate the two of them.

“The two of you have really explosive interaction.” Meng Yao picked up the microphone first. “Mu Qing is especially handsome. I’m almost crazy about you.”

Her comments were not impromptu but based on the script. Ruan Jiyun and Mu Qing’s stage effect was very good, so they naturally received a certain amount of praise. However, the main compliments were directed at—Mu Qing.

This was inevitable. Before the recording, the production team had already handed them a preliminary list of candidates, and Mu Qing’s name was prominently featured. This meant she was definitely moving on to the next round of selection.

The list had fifty people, leaving only twenty-two free spots to be decided by the mentors on the spot.

After everyone else had finished their comments, Jiang Peifeng finally picked up the microphone. After saying a few words about the overall stage effect, she directly called out Mu Qing’s name: “Your conditions are excellent, but the only problem is, you are trying too hard.”

The moment she said this, everyone on and off stage was a little stunned.

“The strength in this dance comes from within, but you overly focused on the outward expression during your performance. When interacting with your partner, you were too forceful, which made it look deliberate,” Jiang Peifeng continued. “You need to pay attention to that.”

Her words made Mu Qing look somewhat awkward on stage. She couldn’t help but inwardly criticize Jiang Peifeng for being too serious. She was going for the cool and handsome route; how could she capture attention without being bold? But since the program was still recording, she could only quietly say: “Thank you for the guidance, Mentor.”

The other trainees off-stage also started whispering about the comment.

“It’s Jiang Peifeng’s own song, so the standards are definitely stricter. This Mu Qing does feel a little… oily…”

“Peifeng is a main dancer, so being particular about details is understandable.”

At this point, Meng Yao received a cue from the director and smoothly changed the subject with a smile: “It seems our Mentor Jiang will be very strict! Contestants, be mentally prepared. But I have a small suggestion. Since this is Mentor Jiang’s song, do you want to see her give a live demonstration?”

This instantly pushed the atmosphere to a high point. Many of the trainees sitting off-stage were Jiang Peifeng’s fans. Seeing this, they immediately cooperated, shouting in unison: “We—want—to—see—it!”

Jiang Peifeng glanced at Meng Yao, who cheekily stuck out her tongue and pointed toward the buzzing audience, signaling that this was everyone’s opinion and had nothing to do with her.

“You all just want me to liven things up.” Jiang Peifeng smiled faintly and stood up from her seat.

Seeing that she was really going on stage, everyone screamed even louder.

Jiang Peifeng walked to the stage, first patting Mu Qing’s shoulder and saying with a smile: “I need to borrow your partner for a moment.”

Then, she reached out and pulled the still-stunned Ruan Jiyun next to her, signaling the director to play the music.

“Don’t be nervous. Just dance to your previous rhythm,” the fierce drum intro began. She whispered to Ruan Jiyun in a voice only Ruan Jiyun could hear.

The moment Jiang Peifeng stepped onto the stage, Ruan Jiyun’s heart started pounding with nerves. This was Jiang Peifeng! She was actually going to dance with her?

However, the music had already started. She felt the person behind her raise a hand and lightly shake something in front of her eyes.

At some point, Jiang Peifeng had undone her necklace. Her fair fingertip held up the key-shaped pendant, which dropped in front of Ruan Jiyun, drawing a dazzling gold arc.

As the drumbeat began, they instantly separated, executing the same dance moves with precise synchronization.

The same music, the same choreography, but the atmosphere on stage suddenly became completely different.

“How do I feel… like I’m watching a different dance? It’s so sophisticated…”

“She didn’t touch her at all, but why does it look so intimate…”

The two people on the stage seemed to merge into one. Jiang Peifeng’s hand hovered near Ruan Jiyun’s waist, not actually touching her, but acting like an invisible thread, guiding Ruan Jiyun’s movements to follow her ebb and flow.

It was both supple and contained a surging power within the flowing movements.

The music gradually moved towards the ending pose. Here, the two still stood one in front of the other. Jiang Peifeng grabbed Ruan Jiyun’s ponytail, and Ruan Jiyun tilted her head in response…

But Jiang Peifeng did not choose Mu Qing’s movement. Instead, she smiled, slowly raised her right hand, and gently lifted the necklace.

In her hand, the key-shaped necklace pendant was still dangling. The pendant fell in front of Ruan Jiyun, tracing a pendulum-like arc.

Once, and then again…

“Ah… she’s too good. The necklace is simulating hypnosis!” A girl who reacted first whispered in awe, covering her mouth. “The sense of bond is immediate…”

A thin necklace hung suspended between her and Ruan Jiyun, shimmering, like a delicate and captivating connection.

She controlled her, she possessed her, and she also—bestowed upon her.